Professional Love
by x-The Devil's Advocate-x
Summary: When Holley met Finn, she did not expect herself to become trapped in a perilous mission.  When she finds herself in a world of loss, love, and lust, Holley almost forgets about the most important thing of all.  FinnxHolley  Please read!
1. You are Now

**_Alright, so I know I swore not to write anymore fics, but I can't help it! This one is going to be based on Holley and Finn. I don't see how Holley and Mater could've ended up together like at the end of Cars 2. They're just so wrong for each other in my opinion. However, I think Folly is just an adorable pairing and I can think of lots of adventures those two can have together, so here's the first chapter to my fic. :) Sorry that this first chapter is a bit repetitive, but I wanted to write about when Holley first met Finn. This story will be told from Holley's POV. Um...I think that's enough of my blabbing. Please read! :D  
_**

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**Chapter I  
**

_ ~ You are now ~_

Loud music, shiny cars, beat-up cars, and flashing lights filled the party celebrating The World Grand Prix. I, however, was not here for the party. My eyes scanned right past the racecars planning to compete in the races. Seeing an elevator up ahead, I slipped inside it and let the glass doors close smoothly behind me. Even from within the doors, I could still hear the music. Good god, it was giving me a headache! Couldn't it be turned down just a smidgen?

Apparently not. When I reached the next floor, I took a deep breath and told myself that it was time to get out of the elevator. I was on a mission and all spies must remember that work comes before all things, especially petty things like personal preferences.

The word "spy" seems very strong and powerful. I, however, was mostly technical. After much work and an excellent education, my skills had been perfected and I was just starting to be sent on missions. Today was only my second mission and I had to admit that I was rather nervous.

Rachel, my sister, had encouraged me and helped me to leave our home feeling confident. Rachel and I lived together since my parents had been murdered about ten years ago. They had also been spies and had died for the greater good as Rachel liked to tell me.

Right now though, there were butterflies in my stomach as I drove out of the elevator and scanned the area in front of me. I was to meet another spy, give him the message from London, and then work as his assistant if he needed one. All this made me nervous. I was used to working with computers and numbers, not other spies...especially a male spy. Despite the fact that I kept telling myself that this spy would be polite and considerate, I still felt myself getting faint of breath.

Would I even be able to recognize the one I was suppose to meet? There were so many cars here tonight in this massive party, including many enemies and...

Oh. As I drove slowly through the crowd, a car unlike any other that I had seen before peered over at me. Our eyes met and despite the fact that I felt like blushing and turning away, we locked gazes for a moment before the other car's face broke into a smile.

Taking a deep breath, I drove towards him, having a strong feeling that this was indeed the car that I was suppose to meet tonight. As I approached him, I wondered why nobody had bothered to describe him to me. Then again, I supposed there were numerous blue cars here at this party tonight.

Now directly in front of the car and hoping that he was indeed the one I was suppose to meet, I made the statement that all spies tell one another, "A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator."

"That's because it's air-cooled," the car in front of me replied in a friendly voice, still fixing me with a smile.

I decided I liked this car even if he did make me nervous. Still meeting his eyes, I cut straight to the point and introduced myself, "I'm Agent Shiftwell, Holley  
Shiftwell from the Tokyo Station. I have a message from London."

"Not here," my new friend whispered to me before starting to drive back to the elevator, talking loudly, "You must try the canapes on the mezzanine!"

The two of us entered an elevator and immediately started traveling downwards, the way I had come only a few moments ago. I sighed as I thought about going back to the floor with all the loud music and arrogant racecars. Glancing at my partner out of the corner of my eye, I asked, "May I know your name?"

"Of course, I never properly introduced myself. I'm Finn McMissile. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Shiftwell," Finn introduced himself before glancing around warily and adding in a quieter voice, "So the lab boys analyzed the photo I sent? What did they learn about the camera?"

Although I did not know Finn well at all yet, it was clear that he was very serious about his work. Remembering the message I had memorized earlier, I replied, "It appears to be a standard television camera. They said if you could get closer photos next time, that would be great."

Finn looked irritated and a bit surprised as he queried, "_This_ was London's message?"

Feeling a bit like an idiot, I shook my head and immediately continued with the rest of the message, "Oh - no, no. No sir. Um, the oil platforms you were on? Turns out they're sitting on the biggest oil reserve in the world."

Appearing to be rather surprised, Finn's eyebrows narrowed and he mused aloud, "How did we miss that?"

I hesitated, uncertain whether Finn was asking me a question or talking to himself. Since I knew the answer, I went ahead and informed Finn of it, replying in my quiet, steady voice, "They'd been scrambling everyone's satellites. The Americans actually discovered it just before you did. They placed an agent on that platform, under deep cover. He was able to get a photo of the car who's running the entire operation."

Finn nodded thoughtfully as the elevators opened and the two of us drove back out of them. Without looking at me, Finn asked, "Who is it? Has anyone seen the  
photo yet?"

"No, not yet. The American is here tonight to pass it to you. He'll signal you when he's ready," I told Finn the rest of my message, feeling a bit more confident at this point. I had done my job well and had passed on my message just as I had been directed to do.

"Good," Finn replied before glancing over the balcony and then retreating into the shadows, "Oh no."

I followed Finn into the shadows and peered at his face worriedly, "What is it?"

"Change of plan," Finn replied a bit sharply. "You're meeting the American."

It took a minute before I realized just what Finn had said. Doing my best not to stammer (a spy _never_ stammers), I echoed in alarm, "What? Me?"

"Those thugs down there were on the oil platform. If they see me, the whole mission is compromised," Finn explained solemnly as if it were our only option. Despite the fact that I could tell Finn needed my help, I found myself trying to back out of the mission.

"No, no. I'm technical, you see. I'm in Diagnostics. I'm not a field agent," I protested nervously, having no idea where Finn was going with this. Talking with other cars was something I could do when it was necessary, but I preferred not to. Meeting an American spy had not been on my list of things to do.

Giving me a confident smile, Finn added, "You are now."

Me? A field agent? I bit my lip hard, but decided not to make a fuss. I was to be Finn's new assistant and I certainly didn't want to get on his bad side already. Turning, I drove in the opposite direction to go and meet this American.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around and felt my heart jump into my throat before I realized it was only Finn. After making certain that nobody was staring at us, Finn whispered in my ear, "You'll do fine, Shiftwell. Just apply as much dedication to this job as your previous ones and you'll do fine. I have confidence in you. Message me when the American activates his tracking device."

Breathing heavily after Finn had scared me, I merely nodded and drove along until I was in a rather isolated part of the building. I turned on my radio as well as my tracking devices to try and find the American. Only a few moments later, my onboard computer sprang to life with a loud _ding_! This time, I did not jump. For some reason, I worked much better alone. A wave of calmness flowed through me from my core as I told myself that I would be alright. I could do this.

Speaking into the radio, I alerted Finn, "The American has activated his tracking beacon."

"Roger that. Move in," Finn replied.

I nodded and started driving in the direction that the computer was signaling me to go in. This computer was perhaps the item I was most grateful for. It was of the highest technology and was more up-to-date than any other computer.

As I drove along, I found my thoughts wandering a bit. What was it going to be like working with Finn? He certainly seemed nice enough and very skilled. After all, he was quite a bit older than me and clearly had more experience. Finn wasn't exactly bad-looking either. I liked his quick smile, smooth voice, and his blue eyes. Wait, were they blue or green? I couldn't quite remember...

Seeing that the tracking device was flashing brighter on my computer, I forgot Finn for the moment and tried to isolate the tracking device and also the American until, "Oh, you've _got _to be joking!"

Forgetting that I had the radio turned on, I was a bit surprised when Finn replied, "What's the problem, Shiftwell?"

"He's in the loo," I explained, looking back and forth worriedly and slowing my drive just a bit.

"Well go in!" was Finn's immediately response.

Trust Finn to just expect me to go into the men's bathroom! Protesting, I exclaimed, "I can't just go into the men's loo!"

"Time is essence, Shiftwell," Finn insisted.

I sighed loudly, not liking this field agent business one bit. There was a reason why I was technical! Besides, the men's loo would be dirty and disgusting with all those cars taking care of business and...I preferred not to think about it any longer. However, I wanted to do my best for Finn and he seemed quite firm on the subject, so I gave in and continued driving towards the loo, "Oh, alright..."

Unfortunately, I arrived at the bathroom much sooner than I would've liked to. I stopped outside the door and started to prepare myself to go in. Before I could make my move, the door whipped open and a tow truck exited, blowing exhaust all over me as he drove right by.

Disgusted, I checked my computers again. They confirmed that this was indeed the American spy. Unable to believe it, I whispered to Finn, "This cannot be him!"

"Is he American?" Finn asked levelly, not showing nearly as much emotion as me.

I turned my eyes back to the tow truck just as he exclaimed to nobody in particular, "Look out, ladies. Mater's fittin' to get funky!"

"Extremely," I answered Finn, wondering if this was the first tow truck spy in history or if all American spies were tow trucks.

"Then it's him," Finn replied.

Oh dear, so I was going to have to go to this tow truck and talk to him about the device. Frowning to myself, I realized that my mission had just become a lot more complicated and my destiny had become a lot more twisted.

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_Review? :)  
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	2. You're Safe With Me

**_Wow, so many reviews for just one chapter! :) I couldn't be more happy. ^^ Thank you all for reading, it really means a lot to me. Feedback is what every writer loves most! :D_**

**_12DEHD: Oh, you haven't seen Cars 2? Well...maybe the story will still make sense even if you haven't seen it. I dunno. :P Anyways, how was your Xmas? I can't believe there's still no snow here! _**

**_Optimus' Girl: Thank you! And heh, I know exactly what you mean. I have way too many ideas swirling around in my head. I have not seen that movie...is it good? :)_**

**_TRANSFORMERS-O.P.-ADDICT: Many thanks to you! ^^ Hopefully, this chapter will be less repetitive all the same. _**

**_Shellow: Hehe, you love Folley too? :D It's great to meet another fan of this adorable couple. I totally fell in love with them when I watched Cars 2 for the first time and then got all mad when Holley called herself Mater's girlfriend at the end of the movie. :P_**

**_RocktheKaos: Yay, you're reading this too! Thank you! *hugs* So you like HolleyxFinn better than HolleyxMater? _**

**_iBrizzy: I agree so much! Mater and Holley are so different. I mean, what would they even do on a date? Go tractor tripping? LOL!_**

**_HourofTwilight: Aw, thank you! :) I'm so glad you're reading this! I think they're a very cute couple too.  
_**

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**Chapter II  
**

_ ~ You're safe with me ~_

I glanced between the tow truck spy and the men's bathroom, still a bit dubious that this could be the American spy. However, Finn seemed to be quite sure of it and Finn seemed to know best. Taking a deep breath, I drove quickly to get ahead of the tow truck. Turning around in front of him, I forced him to come to a halt as I offered a hesitating, "Hello."

"Well, hello!" the tow truck replied, looking me over. Ugh, I hated it when men did that. I felt like they were trying to dissect me!

Getting straight to the point and shifting uncomfortably under the tow truck's gaze, I stated clearly, "A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator."

"Well of course it doesn't. That's 'cause it's air-cooled!" the tow truck replied as if I were asking a stupid question.

Sighing with relief and seeing that Finn was right about this tow truck being the spy, I let myself relax just a notch and began to introduce myself to the American spy, "Perfect. I'm from the Tokyo Station of the-"

I was cut off by the tow truck as he continued to go into details about the radiator, "Course, Karmann Ghia's weren't the only ones. Besides the Beetles you had your Type-3 Squarebacks, with the pancake motors..."

Unsure if he thought I needed more proof that he was a spy or what he was trying to say exactly, I cut in and tried to finish my prior sentence, "Yeah. Okay, I get it-"

To my annoyance, I was interrupted a second time as the tow truck continued to go on, "... And before both of them, there's the Type-2 buses - my buddy Fillmore's one of them."

"Listen!" I said a bit more loudly. Thankfully, the tow truck remained silent this time. Glancing around warily, I said, "We should find somewhere more private."

"Uh, gee. Don't you think that's a little, uh -" the tow truck looked at me as if I was a little on the crazy side.

Feeling anxious from too much nervous energy, I continued on in a rush, "You're right. Impossible to know which areas here are compromised. So, when can I see you again?"

Looking a bit surprised, the tow truck spy thought for a moment before replying, "Well, let's see. Tomorrow I'll be out there at the races."

"Great. We'll rendezvous then," I replied curtly before turning and driving away swiftly. I had a very bad feeling that I was being watched...or perhaps I was just being paranoid. Either way, I mostly wanted to get back to Finn and see what my next mission would be.

I took the long way back to Finn since I wanted to avoid the raucous music and partying cars. Parties had and never would be my kind of thing. They made me uncomfortable. I always liked to do things alone or in a small group, a small group referring to one other car and myself.

After ten minutes of driving through the dark, secluded hallways, I finally realized that I had to cross through the party to get to Finn. Sighing at the inconvenience, I braced myself before driving through the crowd. Almost immediately, I heard a voice calling my name.

"Hey! Hey lady!"

Glancing in the direction of the voice, I saw none other than the tow truck spy grinning over at me with a goofy smile on his face. I stopped, completely stunned for a millisecond. What was this spy doing? The last thing he should do was point out a fellow spy to a whole party of cars! Was there any better way to get caught? Shaking my head in alarm, I immediately drove off through the crowd.

"See ya tomorrow!" the tow truck called after me once more as I disappeared.

Glad to be away from him, I quickly drove to the elevator and slipped inside. As I rose up to the floor that Finn was waiting for me on, I wondered why this spy was so different. I had met several spies in my lifetime, mainly because of my parents, and none of them had acted like this.

Finally, after a few more minutes of weaving through the crowds, I found Finn. He was still secluded in the shadows and was clearly avoiding certain cars. As I drove up to him, he turned in my direction and fixed me with sharp eyes as he asked, "What did the American say?"

"We're to meet him at the race tomorrow," I explained. "It should be safer to discuss important matters then...I hope."

"Well done, Shiftwell," Finn said, cracking a smile at me. "Being a field agent isn't so bad now, is it?"

Frowning, I didn't reply right away, giving Finn my answer by silence. Finn merely chuckled and then said, "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

I blinked and found the question a bit odd. Out of all things we had discussed, this had to be the only thing that did not relate to spy work. Shrugging, I replied, "Not particularly, but it shouldn't be too hard to find somewhere to stay."

"You need to stay in the vicinity if we're to be meeting the American at the races tomorrow," Finn replied firmly. "I've already made arrangements for us. We'll be staying at the hotel across from the racing track. It's a fine hotel if I do say so myself. It should have everything you need."

Supposing that Finn did have a point about why we should stay in the vicinity, I nodded and said, "Alright."

Finn looked around in both directions before waving me next to him as he slipped out of a back entrance, murmuring, "We'll go out this way. We should be able to remain undetected unless one of those thugs noticed me earlier."

Not having much to say, I kept quiet and drove by Finn's side into the street. As usual, the traffic was thick, but Finn and I managed to reach the hotel without too much delay. Since we weren't talking much, I took the opportunity to glance over at my new partner inconspicuously. Finn was as different from the American spy as was possible. He was experienced, polite, attractive, and...

Had I just said attractive? Frowning, I realized this was the first time I had found another car to be attractive. Growing up, I had never spent time around the opposite sex and had never felt any attraction towards them. However, as I drove by Finn's side, I felt an almost magnetic pull to him. It was strange really.

Reacting without thinking, I drove closer to Finn as we headed towards the entrance of the hotel. My move did not go unnoticed by Finn.

"Is everything alright, Shiftwell?" he asked, glancing over at me in what appeared to be concern.

Realizing that I had just acted stupidly, I turned away as my cheeks grew warm and murmured, "Yes. I'm fine. It's just...I...I don't like being out late."

As soon as the words had left my lips, I realized just how idiotic I must sound to Finn. I was a spy and yet I was afraid of being out late. Hm. That sounded quite unbelievable. I would have to think about my actions more carefully next time. Frowning, I found that I still didn't even know why I had driven closer to Finn. I had just wanted to be next to him. It just felt right.

"Of course," Finn finally replied to my prior statement. "However, I can assure you that you will be quite safe here tonight. If you like, I can come along with you until we reach your room."

Normally, I would've said no, of course I could drive to my room on my own. Today, I glanced at Finn out of the corner of my eye and said simply, "Thank you."

Once the two of us were in the lobby, I immediately started in the direction of the car behind the desk. Finn started out in the direction of the hallway. Confused, I glanced between Finn and the desk, unsure if Finn was forgetting to get the room keys or not.

Finn motioned for me to join him and once I was by his side, he murmured, "I already have the keys. It never hurts to be prepared."

"Oh. I see," I replied, realizing now that Finn was the kind of car that always had everything planned out and prepared. I was good at planning things out, but actually putting plans into action was not my specialty. Perhaps Finn and I would make a good pair.

As we drove along, Finn tossed me the key to my room and murmured, "The race starts at twelve pm sharp tomorrow. Meet me here in this hallway at eleven am. I don't want to take any chances that we could be late."

I nodded silently until we reached the end of the hallway and Finn pointed to my room, explaining, "Here we are, room #667. Is there anything else you need?"

I shook my head and started to put the key in the lock before impulse seized me again and I turned and called after my new partner, "Finn?"

"Yes, Miss Shiftwell?" Finn replied, immediately turning back around at my cry.

"Are you staying with anyone?" I asked without thinking about what I was saying. Only then did I realize that I had called Finn by his first name and not by his last name like I should have. Oh dear, I was really screwing things up tonight.

A half-smile curved up the corner of Finn's lips as he answered my question, "Why...no, Miss Shiftwell. Why do you ask?"

Why had I asked? I wasn't even sure anymore. Blushing brightly, I made up the excuse, "I was just wondering if there were any other spies here."

"I see," Finn said, looking left and right before lowering his voice and adding, "There is only you, me, and the American. You needn't fret though. As I've said, everything will be fine. Goodnight, Miss Shiftwell."

"Goodnight, F-" I managed to catch myself mid-sentence and add, "Mr. McMissile."

Finn almost laughed and replied, "No need for formality. Finn is fine."

"Oh," I replied, blushing still brighter. "Goodnight then, Finn."

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_Review? :)  
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	3. I Need You

**_Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story! It means the world to me. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: Yeah, all that happens in Cars 2. xD Holley and Finn are the spies (obviously, lol). Do you think you'll see the movie sometime?_**

**_MissCarrera: I'm glad you liked it. :) Can I convince you to read the next chapter?_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Wow, thanks for such a nice review! I always try to make sure my stories tie in with the movies. So I'm not over-describing things? A lot of people say I describe too much. :P_**

**_Pixie: OMG, you finally saw Cars 2! *throws a party* I'm so glad you liked this chapter. :D Who was your favorite character in Cars 2 and what did you think of the movie overall?  
_**

**_Optimus' Girl: Awesome! I get new obsession a lot too...obviously. xP Who's your favorite character in the movie?  
_**

**_TRANSFORMERS-O.P.-ADDICT: Thank you! :D This chapter is going to be very different...I hope Holley is still in character. =/  
_**

**_Shellow: Thank you so much! You're making me blush over here. :P And yay, maybe we can convert everyone to Folley . ^^  
_**

**_RocktheKaos: I totally agree with you about HolleyxFinn making more sense! Haha, I hated Beauty and the Beast. :P Omg, you should totally do some fanart! Are you on dA? I'd love to see your art. :)_**

**_baby inuyasha13: Thanks! I'm so glad you like it. Is Holley one of your favorite characters?_**

**_CutieChloe: Aw, thank you so much! So you like Holley better with Finn than Mater too? xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: I think Holley would dump Mater after tractor tripping. xD Omg, he's a HolleyxMater fan? D: You must convert him!  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: *hugs back* I love Cars 2 as well! I thought the plot was better than the plot in Cars 1. What do you think?  
_**

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**Chapter III  
**

_ ~ I need you ~_

With Finn gone, I slipped inside my hotel room and looked around. The lights were already on and it appeared as if someone else was here already. I was quite sure that I was being paranoid this time, but I couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that I was being watched. Taking a deep, calming breath, I drove through the kitchen area and decided to get something to drink. I was thirsty and feeling a bit peaked for some reason.

Popping open the fridge with a tire, I glanced inside to find no bottled water. Oh right, of course there would be no bottled water. I hadn't gone shopping for any food or drink since the start of my mission. Just as I was about to shut the refrigerator, I noticed something shiny within in.

Peering inside it suspiciously, I tugged out a bottle of champagne. Odd. Why would there be champagne in my room? Supposing that it had been left there by the guest before me, I left the champagne on the counter and went to examine the bathroom.

The bathroom looked quite ordinary and very clean besides for one stray towel that looked like it had been thrown on the floor. Of course it hadn't actually been thrown though. No doubt the towel had merely slipped off of the counter.

I drove up to the mirror in the bathroom and peered inside it. My eyes looked bright and my face held a nervous expression. Suddenly, the image before me wavered and I found myself looking into the teal eyes of a sleek, shiny car. For a moment, I actually thought Finn McMissile was in the room with me until I realized it was just my imagination running away with me. The image before me dissolved and I was staring back at my own reflection the next moment.

Figuring that it had been a long day and that I really needed some sleep, I entered the bedroom and glanced around. The bed was plush and comfy, the curtains to the window had been drawn, and there was a large mural of angels and cherubic figures painted on the ceiling.

Sizzle, pop, crack. Faint noises sounded from the left corner of the room. I immediately started towards the sound and found that the sizzling noise was coming from the vent in the corner. Perhaps it was broken. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned the vent off to stop the unwanted noise.

After flicking off the light, I drove up the short ramp that led to the bed before closing my eyes and becoming engulfed in a world of my own. I tried to direct my thoughts to my mission of meeting the American spy tomorrow at the races, but my thoughts had a mind of their own.

Visions of Finn from earlier replayed in my head over and over again. Perhaps I was starting to get sick. I had never ever felt this way before towards anyone or anything, especially not a male car. Truth be told, I had always thought that boys were rather disgusting. When I was little, the boys my sister was friends with used to think it was funny to pour buckets of mud over me. That had been the first thing that had turned me off of men.

When I was eighteen, I had gotten into a predicament with a male car and had sworn never to interact with the opposite sex again after that. The car hadn't actually hurt me, but his intentions for me were very clear.

I had put that experience behind me, moved on, and studied. During my studies, I learned to interact with both genders, but I had never been able to shake off suspicion whenever I was interacting with the opposite gender.

Take, for example, the American tow truck from earlier. He had immediately made me nervous and on edge.

Finn, however, had made me feel the opposite of that. I knew that Finn would never hurt me. A true honesty emanated straight from his soul to mine. Even though I had barely met him, I knew that I could trust him with my life if it were necessary.

I tried to think about the American spy once more, but my mind insisted on returning to Finn. Instead of focusing on my future missions, I found myself wondering about what Finn was doing now. Was he sleeping? Preparing for tomorrow? Maybe-

Crack! A loud bang sounded from the kitchen, causing me to jerk awake and scan the bedroom with wary eyes. I had this strange feeling that I was not alone tonight. Needing to inspect, I drove into the kitchen, flicked on the light, and peered around.

Everything was in place. Not a single thing had moved a millimeter. Shaking my head at myself, I figured that I had just imagined the noise. I was still feeling very odd and confused, especially about my feelings towards Finn. This time, I went to bed for a second time and fell asleep immediately.

Less than three hours later, I woke up. Glancing around in the dark, I detected the clock and found out that it was just a bit before three am. I felt extremely tired, and yet, I couldn't sleep. The feeling that someone was watching me was growing stronger.

Despite the fact that it was three am, I picked up the hotel's phone with a tire and dialed in my sister's phone number. Ring, ring, ring...

"Hello?" a sleepy voice sounded three rings later.

"Rachel," I sighed with relief. "It's me, Holley. I know it's three in the morning and I really shouldn't be calling, but-"

Rachel had already cut me off and was saying, "Don't worry about it! It's great to hear your voice. You know, I kept thinking about you and your mission all day. So tell me what's up! How'd it go? Where are you now? Did you meet your new partner?"

"Well, I'm at a hotel right now," I replied hesitantly before confiding my fears to my sister, "I know it seems silly, but I can't seem to rid myself of the feeling that someone is watching me. I could've sworn I heard a loud noise coming from my kitchen earlier..."

"Holley," Rachel broke in. "Are you still afraid of ghosts in your closet?"

My cheeks grew warm and I responded immediately, "No, but-"

"It's just you being paranoid. Nobody is in your hotel room," Rachel confirmed before I heard her call to someone else on her side of the line, "It's just my sister, I'll be back in bed in a minute. Don't worry about me."

Curiosity piqued, I couldn't help but ask, "Rachel, are you having company?"

"Oh...yes, I am, actually," Rachel replied without giving me any detail.

"Who is staying with you?" I continued on, wanting a bit more detail.

"Just some guy from work," Rachel dismissed the subject before asking, "So how'd your mission go? And what about your new partner?"

"Well, I had to work as a field agent today. It was quite nerve-wracking. There was a large party going on with far too many lights and cars. The music even gave me a headache."

"Aw, poor you," Rachel replied sympathetically, "I know you hate doing that kind of thing. So are you gonna tell me about your new assistant or what? You keep avoiding the question. What's his name?"

"His name is Finn. Finn McMissile," I said.

"Ooo!" Rachel squealed excitedly. She had always been the much louder sister.

Wondering what she was doing, I asked, "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Rachel answered. "It's just that Finn McMissile sounds like a sexy name."

"Why, Rachel...!" I exclaimed before trailing off, unsure of what to say next.

"Well, it's just a theory," Rachel said a-matter-of-factly. "But usually if the guy has a sexy name, he looks sexy too. Of course, I could be totally wrong though. How does this Finn guy look?"

I tried to think of a way to describe Finn, but couldn't think of much to say, so I just replied, "He is nice looking, I suppose."

"Oh my god!" Rachel shrieked into the phone, causing me to flinch and pray that she hadn't just smashed my eardrum. "You actually called a guy nice looking! He must be really hot then. Tell me more about him! What's he like? Is he nice?"

"Rachel, I do not think male cars are 'hot'," I explained, still blushing from where I was sitting on the bed. "He is just another car like any other. We will work as partners and that will be that. Let's talk about something else perhaps."

"You're a bore, Holley," Rachel complained. "So tell me about your sfdsfsdh-"

Rachel's voice started crackling on the other end of the phone. Suddenly, the phone connection broke off all together and the lights flicked off. Left alone in the dark, I felt scared. I know, I know, spies should not be scared, but I couldn't help it.

Needing to get out of my hotel room for just a bit, I picked up my room key and slipped out of the room and out into the hallway. The hotel was very quiet and still this time of night. Not a single car was driving down the hall. Trying to get myself to calm down, I drove back and forth to rid myself of excess nervous energy until I noticed a suspicious-looking orange car with shifty eyes and crooked teeth. Hadn't Finn pointed him out at the party as one of the thugs he was trying to avoid?

I drove rapidly back to my hotel room and put the key into the lock. Try as I might, the door would not open. It was locked from the inside or the key I picked up must be a spare that didn't fit the lock.

By now, I could hear the orange car driving in my direction. Figuring I had only one option left, I drove to the door of the hotel room next to mine and knocked on it quickly, whispering through the door, "Finn! Finn, I need you!"

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_Review? :)  
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	4. I Trust You

**_Hello everyone! I just watched Cars 2 again, lol. My mom is getting so sick of hearing the movie play. xD I use my fic as an excuse of why I need to watch it so much. Hope you like the chapter!  
_**

**_12DEHD: I've heard of Psych, but I haven't seen it. Is it good? Maybe I should watch it sometime?  
_**

**_Rosethorn: OMG! *hugs* It's great to see you again! Eh, I would ditch Animal Adventure and just read this if I were you. I tried reading AA and it put me to sleep. :P So you saw Cars 2 and liked it? :)  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Omg, I feel the same way about detail! I had stories where it's just dialogue, you know? I find that annoying for some reason. And hehe, you're right, Finn can't beat up the orange guy until later. :P Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_Pixie: I'm so glad that you liked the chapter! :D I threw Holley's sister in it to add a different sort of personality into the mix, you know? :)  
_**

**_Optimus' Girl: I'm glad you liked the chapter! Alright, stupid question, but what kind of animal is Crane?  
_**

**_Shellow: I'll try to update everyday over Xmas break if I can! :) Well, I think it's a bit early for fluff...but Holley might be finding that she has strong feelings for Finn. xD_**

**_CutieChloe: Hm...my favorite would be a tie between Finn and Lightning! Doc was cool, but he was really grumpy at first, you know? :P  
_**

**_iBrizzy: I would dump Mater too if I ran into Frank, lol. Omg, I have the same problem with lemons. I always think of fic lemons. :P And hm...maybe he was making those noises. xP  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Lol, ikr? Come and save her, Finn! xD For some reason, I like explosions and adventure in movies. Wbu? :D  
_**

* * *

**Chapter IV  
**

_ ~ I trust you ~_

I didn't know what that orange car was doing or what he wanted, but I figured that perhaps I would rather not know. My breath caught in my throat and I prayed that Finn had heard my knock and was going to open the door. Any moment, that car was going to come around the corner and see me...

"Miss Shiftwell?" a voice whispered as the door slipped open silently. "Is there a problem?"

I nodded and immediately drove into the room, leaving Finn to shut the door behind me. He did so immediately and then turned around to face me. I was still breathing hard and probably looked spooked. Most likely the orange car had not been trying to stalk me, but he had a suspicious air about him.

"My, my, what is it, Miss Shiftwell?" Finn asked me urgently, turning around and driving up to me in concern. His teal-colored eyes stared right into mine, making me feel faint and lose all the thoughts in my head at that moment. When I didn't say anything, Finn pressed, "Miss Shiftwell, please tell me what is the matter!"

"It all seems rather silly..." I said, finally forcing myself to look away from Finn's eyes.

"Silly or not, it caused me to wake up at three am," Finn pointed out. "I would like to hear about it."

Deciding to skip the part about me hearing noises and finding strange things in the hotel room, I went straight to the bit about the orange car instead, saying, "A few moments ago, I left my hotel room. I was driving around when I saw a orange-colored car with uneven teeth. He was one of the ones we saw at the party yesterday. I tried to get back into my hotel room, but the key wouldn't work."

Finn frowned and replied, "I don't find this silly at all. The name of the car you are describing is Grem. He is working with Professor Zundapp and the others. Tell me, were you able to tell what Grem was up to when he was wandering the halls?"

I thought back and then shook my head, "No. No, I wasn't. I just found it rather odd that he was driving around the hallways at three am."

"I see," Finn replied. "We'll have to keep our eyes open and see if he is at the races tomorrow. I don't know what he is after, but it cannot be good. If it reassures you at all, I highly doubt he was after you. He has far more important things to be concerned about.

I nodded politely and realized that Finn had a point. Of course Grem would not be stalking me.

"However, there is also the question of why your hotel key did not work the second time you used it," Finn stated, obviously going through this all analytically. "I have one key to my room and also the spare that was left on the table. Do you remember if you used your original or spare key?"

"I'm quite certain it was the spare," I replied even though there was really no way for me to be sure if it was a spare or not. Mostly, I didn't want Finn to think I was being careless. I had an impulse to do my best to impress him.

"Well, that explains why you couldn't get back into your room then," Finn said reasonably before fixing me with his bright eyes once more and saying, "but I do have one other question for you."

"Yes?" I asked, unable to fight the impulse to break off our eye contact and stare at the floor instead. It was stupid, but I felt as if Finn could see right through me when I looked into his eyes. It was unnerving and a bit embarrassing.

"Why were you up and wandering the halls at three am?" Finn questioned.

"Oh, that," I said, trying to think of a good answer to Finn's query. Not wanting to seem paranoid, I made up an answer and said, "I couldn't sleep." Somehow or another, Finn immediately detected it was a lie.

"Holley," Finn said in a serious tone, using my first name for once. "Holley, please look at me."

It was a simple request, but one that was extremely hard for me. Very slowly, I lifted my eyes to meet Finn's. I stared into the cyan-colored orbs and could immediately sense something about Finn. His eyes were clear and honest with a tinge of compassion. That was also the way he led his life.

"Alright, now why were you really up at three am?" Finn tried again.

Try as I might, I knew there was absolutely no way I could lie when I was looking into Finn's eyes like this. Without thinking, I went straight for the truth and admitted, "I was calling my sister because I felt lonely and also because I kept hearing strange noises."

"That wasn't _so _hard now, was it?" Finn asked, offering me a small smile before going on. "Tell me what kinds of noises you were hearing. One can never be too careful when away from home."

For some reason, Finn was able to keep me from feeling stupid and paranoid. This time, I was able to take a deep breath and explained, "It started when I first when into the hotel room. I had this strange feeling that someone might be watching me. It also appeared as if someone else might be in the hotel room with me. There was a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator, a towel was on the floor in the bathroom, and the vent in the corner of the room was making sizzling sounds. When I went to sleep, I awoke to hear a crash from the kitchen. When I went to examine, nothing was there. Later, when I was calling my sister, my phone reception cut out and the electricity also went out."

"The electricity in this room appears to be working fine," Finn said, glancing up towards the lights. Looking at me intently, he asked, "Miss Shiftwell, can you think of anyone who would directly want to hurt you or get into contact with you? Perhaps an enemy from school or an ex-boyfriend?"

"Oh no. Definitely not," I replied, giving Finn a strange look when he brought up the term "boyfriend".

Finn tilted his head at me curiously and commented, "You have a very interesting expression on your face."

I found myself blushing again. Somehow or the other, Finn managed to detect everything. Deciding to be honest, I said, "I haven't ever had a boyfriend before."

"Oh really?" Finn asked, looking slightly interested before he went back to professional level with me and said, "I don't blame you in the slightest. It is much easier not to be in any relationships, especially in this profession. Anyways, I would like to request something of you if it wouldn't make you too uncomfortable."

Unsure of what Finn might want, I asked simply, "What is it?"

"I would like us to stay in the same hotel room in the future. I cannot help but worry about your safety after tonight. As you said, tonight it was just little things, but what if next time it is not just a little thing?"

"Oh," I said, not quite sure what else to say.

Finn offered me another small smile before saying, "Miss Shiftwell, please don't avoid the question. I will take no offense if you feel uncomfortable with it. I can transfer you to work with a female spy for your partner if that would make you more at ease. It shouldn't be too hard to find myself another assistant."

My sleepy mind spun as I tried to figure out what Finn was saying. Suddenly, I realized he wanted to send me off to work with someone else. My eyes narrowed and I asked, "What? I don't want to be transferred. Why would you think I would want to be transferred?"

"It isn't so hard to figure out," Finn replied. "You seem very wary of me. From the way you said you'd never had a boyfriend and the way you were so reluctant to meet with the American spy, I assume you've had a bad experience with a man. I won't ask what the experience was; I'm certain it is personal. Although I can reassure you that not all men are heartless and deceitful, I can understand perfectly well if you'd like to work with someone else."

I blinked wide green eyes up at Finn, quite astounded at how he had managed to figure this all out on his own. The time when I was eighteen, the car I had been with had tried to rape me. He hadn't gotten too far since we had been interrupted, but the experience had scared me and left me feeling uncomfortable when any male looked at me closely.

"I...how did you know?" I questioned quietly.

"I've had a lot of experience," Finn winked at me. "I will call for your transfer right now if you wish?"

"No," I said quickly, causing Finn to look at me in puzzlement. "No, I don't want to be transferred. I want to work as your assistant."

"Are you sure, Miss Shiftwell?" Finn asked carefully. "Partners need to be able to confide everything to one another and trust each other one hundred percent. I should be able to trust you with my life and you should be able to do the same."

"I trust you, Finn," I replied. "You're different. You're not like the rest of them."

Finn hesitated and asked one last time, "You're sure about this? After tomorrow, it will be impossible to transfer you and I'd rather not work with an assistant that is unwilling to work with me."

"No, I'm very sure," I answered. "I would trust you with my life if it were necessary."

"Very well then. I'll admit that finding a new assistant was not on my list of top things to do at three in the morning," Finn smiled. "Now off to bed with you. The bedroom is in the room to your right. See if you can get at least a little sleep tonight."

I started driving to my right and then suddenly paused and turned back to Finn, asking, "What about you?"

"I've been sleeping all night," Finn replied. "I'm going to check out the bearings of the racing stadium on my computer and then find a place where we can wait for the American spy. Don't worry, I won't even come in the bedroom."

"Oh. Okay," I said, too tired to protest as I turned and drove towards the bedroom. Just before I could enter, Finn stopped me.

"Miss Shiftwell?" he called. I turned and glanced back at him. "I want you to know that you're safe here. I will never hurt you or allow anyone else to hurt you."

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_Review? :)  
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	5. Straight to Business

**_Thank you all for such the wonderful reviews! I'm shocked you guys have made it past chapter 2! :P I hope you like this chapter. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: The movie sounds great actually! I've always thought that being a psychic would be awesome. Also, I LOVE the 80s! I always wished I was born then and not in the 90s. Wbu? _**

**_TRANSFORMERS-O.P-ADDICT: Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the chapters. Here is more! :D  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Of course I remember you! :D So you like Ramone? I love how he's constantly different colors, you know? I swear he can't last more than one day in the same color. :P So you like Folley now? Awesome!  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Yeah, you do have a point there. :) Thanks, I try to keep them in character, but sometimes it can be difficult, you know? Especially with Finn being British and all that...:P  
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**_Pixie: I'm glad you agree and that you liked the chapter! :) And yeah, poor Holley. :S I always thought it was strange that she didn't have a boyfriend in the movie considering how pretty she was and all.  
_**

**_Optimus' Girl: I just looked them up and they are very cute! ^^ I've always liked flamingos, hehe. So I'm turning you into a Folley fan then?  
_**

**_Shellow: Really? I'd love for someone to be obsessed with my story! :D I agree; they're so adorable together.  
_**

**_RocktheKaos: Being in a hotel room all night with someone you like would be SO hard imo. xD I added you as a friend on dA and all that. I'm CoconutCoral on there, so if you see someone with that name, it's not me and some random person. lol  
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**_iBrizzy: I know, Frank freaks me out SO much! Lol, I still remember the first time I saw Cars 2 and I was all "Lemons? O.O" xD I completely agree with you, btw. Finn is perfect. He makes all RL guys look bad. :P Chick does that too if you like a bad boy.  
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**_HourofTwilight: I know, Finn is always so sweet, isn't he? Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only Cars 2 fan! I've watched it so many times I've lost count now. xD  
_**

* * *

**Chapter V  
**

_ ~ Straight to Business ~_

When I woke the next morning, I felt rested despite all the interruptions from last night. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I slipped off of the bed and turned in the direction of the bathroom. After entering, I locked the door behind me (a spy always locks the door behind her) and peered into the mirror. I didn't look too terrible despite the fact that I hadn't washed yesterday and the fact that I had been at that terrible party all afternoon.

Knock, knock, knock! I just about jumped a meter into the air as someone tapped on my door, calling, "Miss Shiftwell, are you in there?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," I replied. "Do you need me?"

"Not as of the moment," Finn replied. "I was merely making certain that you were alright. Did you sleep well?"

Thinking it was rather stupid to continue talking through the bathroom door, I popped it open with a tire and drove into the hallway. Finn was there looking wide awake and ready for our missions. Remembering that he had asked me a question, I replied, "I slept fine, thank you."

"Great," Finn said, driving by my side towards the kitchen. He sipped from a mug of coffee and asked, "May I get you anything to drink?"

"No thank you," I answered even though I was thirsty. Glancing at the clock, I realized that there wasn't much time before the race started. Finn and I would have to go to meet the American spy very soon. Although I wasn't thrilled about this prospect, I felt slightly calmer than yesterday...mainly because of Finn.

"Alright then. Let's get straight to business," Finn said, forgetting about his coffee and driving to the window. He pushed the curtains aside so we could look out over the busy streets of Tokyo. Figuring that I was suppose to follow him, I drove across the room and parked next to him. Finn nodded directly across the street at an immense office building and said, "You see that building?"

"Yes, I see it," I replied tentatively, unsure where Finn was going with this.

"We'll watch the race from there," Finn explained. "Once we find the American, we will go to the place he is waiting for us. I don't think we should be in the stands for obvious reasons. Grem and his chums might be around."

"Oh, yes, of course," I nodded, having no wish to run into Grem again after yesterday.

"It's mid-morning. I believe it's time we start out on our mission," Finn said before turning to me and asking, "Are you ready, Miss Shiftwell?"

I nodded and followed Finn to the door. Finn opened it quietly and glanced in both directions before driving out into the hallway with me behind him. We took the elevator down to the main floor and then slipped unnoticed through the crowd, into the lobby, and out into the streets.

Suddenly, Finn turned and whispered in my ear, "We should split up. I'll meet you by the entrance to that office building in a moment."

Before I had time to comment, Finn had literally disappeared. Having no idea where he had gone to, I resisted looking for him and instead drove forwards when the light turned green. It wasn't very far to the office building, but with the crowds driving to the race, it took a good fifteen minutes to get across the street. Finally, only one traffic light separated me from the building.

Loud whistling from the sidewalks caught my attention. Several beat-up, rough-looking cars were ogling me with wide eyes. I blushed and turned away, wishing that they would go away. Unfortunately, they didn't. One of the cars called towards me, "Hey lady! Over here!"

My cheeks grew warm and I shifted uncomfortably. The light couldn't turn green fast enough. Once it did, I sped across the street as fast as possible and hurried to the front of the office building. To my surprise, Finn was already there.

"Hello, Miss," Finn said before taking a look at my expression and whispering in a different tone of voice, "Are you alright?"

"I...yes," I replied. "Some cars were just whistling and yelling at me, that's all."

"Are they following you?" Finn asked, looking a bit upset as he turned and looked around inconspicuously.

"No, no, they left," I said, not wanting to make a fuss or cause Finn to worry. "Should we go inside now?"

Finn nodded and tried to open the door to the office building with a tire. The door didn't budge. It was locked. Looking up, I realized that the windows to the building were very dark. The building was most likely closed at the moment.

Finn's brow furrowed, but I was not alarmed. Learning how to unlock doors was something I had learned how to do a very long time ago. While Finn was busy frowning, I lit up one of the laser beams on my tire and aimed it directly at the lock. I sent heat to the inside of the lock through the beam and caused it to melt.

"Hm, let's see," Finn said before glancing over and noticing what I had done. His eyes lit up and his face broke into a surprised smile as he said, "Well done, Miss Shiftwell! I would never have thought of that."

"Thank you," I replied, blushing brighter before following Finn through the door and into the office building. Just as I had suspected, all the lights were off and the building was clearly closed today, most likely because of the race.

Once we reached the top floor of the building, Finn and I drove to a window and peered out over the crowd watching the race. My eyes grew wide as I scanned the crowd. Without computers, I had absolutely no idea how you would be able to find a certain car in that massive crowd.

"Alright," Finn said, jerking me back to reality. "See if you can detect where the American is waiting for us. You can do that, can't you?"

"Of course," I replied immediately as I brought up my onboard computer and performed a series of activities before getting the computer to scan the crowd for the tow truck I had met yesterday. Finn watched over my shoulder, making me feel nervous and also like I needed to impress him. Only a few minutes later, the computer zeroed in on a figure in the pits. I blinked, hardly able to believe it.

Turning to Finn, I asked in surprise, "Why is he in the pits? He's so exposed."

"It's his cover. One of the best I've seen, too. Look at the detail on that rust. It must have cost him a fortune," Finn pointed out, clearly more impressed with the tow truck than with me. For some reason, I felt my heart sink just a little bit.

Moving on, I asked another question, "But why hasn't he contacted us yet?"

"There's probably heat on him. Be patient," Finn replied.

Patience was not one of my best qualities. There is nothing to do but absorb yourself in your own thoughts when waiting for something. Sighing, I said, "Right, of course. He'll signal us when he can."

"And then we find out who's behind all this," Finn nodded.

Doing my best to be patient, I glanced out of the window and tried to keep my attention on the tow truck. Honestly though, he was quite boring to look at. He was either ignoring us or was busy with the race since he continued to talk through his radio to someone else.

Unable to help it, I let my gaze wander to my left. Finn still had his eyes on the computer. Very well then. There wasn't any need for us both to keep our eyes on him. After all, he wasn't doing much at the moment.

My eyes focused on Finn and observed his smooth sides. He looked as if he had never been in an accident before in his life. Everything about Finn was so sleek and polished. The more I stared, the more I found him to be...beautiful? I immediately threw that idea out the window and went back to staring at the American spy until there was a sudden flash on my computer.

"Hold on. I think I've got something," I replied as Finn raised his eyebrows at me. After focusing on the computer for a few moments, I pointed out, "It's he Pacer from the party last night. I'm cross-referencing with the photos from the oil derricks...yep. His VIN numbers match."

Finn, who was still looking over my shoulder, asked almost directly into my ear, "Anyone with him? He won't be alone."

Doing my best to ignore Finn's warm breath on my cheek, I said in an analytical voice, "Conducting analysis on the target."

Finn and I waited as the computer searched the crowd. To my horror, Grem showed up on my computer! Frowning, I added, "He's not the only one here. Three... five... they're everywhere. And they're all closing in on... oh no."

The computer was flashing and showing that Grem and his friend were all headed towards the American spy! My heart starting beating frantically as I prepared myself for a fight if there would be need for one. Glancing to my left, I suddenly realized that Finn had vanished.

"Finn? Finn, where are you?" I asked, searching the room and seeing that Finn was indeed gone.

Over the radio, Finn replied in a serious voice, "Get him out of the pits now!"

Realizing what I had to do, I broke into the tow truck's radio system and asked frantically, "Can you hear me? Over."

There was a long silence followed by lots of crackling before the tow truck replied, "Uh, what?"

"Get out of the pits now!" I pressed, trying to figure out if the tow truck was replying to me or someone else. "Do you hear me?"

There was another long moment's silence during which I chewed my lip frantically. Finally, recognition sounded in the tow truck's voice as he replied, "Hey, I know you. You're that girl from the party last night. You wanna do our date right now?"

"There's no time for messing about. You've got to get out of the pits," I pressed, continuing to watch the American from my window. He wasn't moving an inch!

"Is there gonna be cable where you is so I can watch the rest of the race?" the tow truck asked in what seemed to be a sincere voice.

Why was he going on about the race still? Was it part of his disguise? Not wanting to let Finn down, I informed the American, "You're running out of time!" If he didn't hurry up, we would all be out of time and I would have failed my first assignment.

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_Review? :)  
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	6. They're Coming

**_Happy New Year everyone! I hope you're all doing well and thank you for continuing to read. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: Oh, it's a TV show? Hm, well, I still want to watch it now. :P I agree with you about the 80s. Oh, do you like Guns 'n Roses? I used to be obsessed with them! I have all their albums besides for one.  
_**

**_Alicia: Hey, I've missed you too. *hugs* My parents seem to have a thousand things for me to do during break and then they're dragging me along to car dealerships because they're looking for a new car and all that crap. I can't wait until break is OVER. How've you been? ^^  
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**_Rosethorn: Aw, no problem! :) Yeah, I was like that too when I first watched Cars, but then I got really interested in it and that's where the story came from. :P I agree too, Finn does beat Mater! I never liked Mater much tbh. xP  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: I know what you mean! I didn't get why Finn was so impressed with Mater when he had such an awesome partner already! Hehe, and jealous Finn = awesome Finn! Then again, I think it might take a while for Finn to actually show if he's jealous or not. ;)  
_**

**_Pixie: I agree! It's nice to be able to change things in fanfiction sometimes. Haha, if I was Holley, I'd be ogling Finn too!  
_**

**_Optimus' Girl: Cranes are awesome! Have they always been your favorite bird? And I'm happy about turning you into a Folley fan. xD Any other fics you really liked out there? I'm weird, I don't really read Cars fics although I did read a good Francesco one yesterday.  
_**

**_Shellow: Yep! And omg, I so agree about Finn. I am hopelessly in love with cars!  
_**

**_RocktheKaos: Hehe, I like that part too! Lightning is SO pissed off after the race. I would die if I listened to Finn with that accent all night! British men ftw. :) Thanks for adding me on dA, btw!  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Haha, I so agree about Finn and Chick! But meh, I don't want a boyfriend anymore. Oh, I saw that stuff in the stores! I was going to buy some, but they didn't have it in diet, so yeah. xP This is random, but I was drinking cherry coke yesterday and for some reason, I started choking and could not stop! My mom was like "Wth is wrong with you?" lol  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: I know! Cars 2 is like my addiction now! And ikr? Mater is so slow getting out of the pits! -_-  
_**

* * *

**Chapter VI  
**

_ ~ They're Coming ~_

I continued to keep my eyes focused on the American spy as the enemy cars continued to close in around him. He was still hesitating and not getting out of the pits! I wasn't certain if he wasn't listening to me, if he couldn't hear me, or if it were a combination of both. Regardless, I didn't exactly appreciate being ignored like this. I was doing this for his very own good, and instead of listening, he was stalling!

"They're coming, Shiftwell," Finn informed me of what I already knew from the radio.

"Yes, I know," I replied, wondering where Finn was while I continued to stare at the tow truck spy on my computer.

"Get him out of there!" Finn told me almost desperately.

"I'm trying!" I answered before turning my attention to the tow truck and pressing urgently, "Get out now!"

The tow truck finally responded and gave in, turning and driving out of the pits as he told me, "Well, all right but I usually like to have a proper detailing done before I meet a lady friend."

I decided not to reply to this as I couldn't figure out if he was saying this because of his disguise or because of something else. My thoughts traveled to Finn as I rearranged my computer to a grid-like screen showing me the town and what streets the tow truck was traveling down. Only half-paying attention to the screen, I wondered if Finn was fighting the assailant cars or if he was hurt or injured or-

"Miss Shiftwell?" Finn's voice interrupted my thoughts from over the radio.

Sighing with relief, I quickly responded, "I've got him in the back alleys east of the garages. Multiple assailants are closing in quickly."

"Keep him moving. I'm on my way," Finn ordered, not letting me know what he was doing or where he was going. Unable to help it, I searched for Finn on the computer and located his figure with a flashing blue dot.

"Hey, new lady friend? Do ya like flowers?" the American spy asked me as he paused in front of a shop in the street.

Very shocked at why he was choosing this moment to ask me about flowers out of all things, I replied sharply, "No! Don't go 'in' anywhere. Just keep moving." This American was very stubborn and I was finding it harder and harder to keep him focused. Thankfully, he actually listened to me this time and went clicking down the streets just like I had asked him to. Just to add some feedback, I told him, "You're doing great. Now just stay focused."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Finn's blue dot flashing on the screen. I was tempting to look towards it and figure out what he was doing. It was clear that he was getting into a fight with the enemy cars, but unless I focused in on it, I couldn't tell just what he was doing.

"What's that? You want me to head toward that ruckus?" the American asked, turning straight down into the alley where Finn was fighting off the other cars.

"No! Don't go down that street!" I practically yelled into the radio. Who would've known it would be so hard to give a spy directions?

From the American's radio, I suddenly heard loud smashes and explosions. Holding my breath, I waited to see what was going on. Forgetting he was speaking to me, the tow truck exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, a live karate demonstration!"

It was good to know that the American was still alive despite his stubbornness, but what about Finn and what was this about the live karate demonstration? Finn better not be part of it! Another smash made my heart leap into my throat with worry.

Suddenly, everything went silent. There was a pause while I wondered if my radio had stopped working until I heard the American, "That was cool! Hey, can I have your autograph?" Two minutes passed before the American added, "Hey, where'd he go?"

Seeing that Finn's blue dot had disappeared from the streets, I told the American, "Our rendezvous has been jeopardized. Keep the device safe. We'll be in touch." With that said, I disconnected my radio from his and then glanced around before speaking into my other radio, "Finn? Finn, are you alright?"

There was a momentary silence in which I panicked before I heard a voice from directly behind me, "Yes, Miss Shiftwell?"

I practically jumped with surprise as I turned around to see Finn driving up to my side. He was breathing a bit heavily, but besides for that, he seemed unharmed. Speaking without thinking for once, I exclaimed, "Oh Finn, thank goodness you're alright. I was worried."

Finn looked a bit surprised at my outburst and replied after a moment's pause, "I appreciate the concern, but you need not worry about me."

"Oh. I'm sorry," I stammered, unsure if I had said something wrong or if Finn was detecting my feelings for him.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Finn replied kindly before fixing me with his sharp eyes and adding, "How did you leave things with the American?"

I blinked and had a hard time returning my thoughts to the tow truck as I replied, "He is safe now and is probably going back to the pits. I told him that our rendezvous had been jeopardized and that we would be in touch later."

"Very good," Finn replied with a nod. "It will be up to us to keep in touch with him, meaning that one of us will have to keep their eyes on him at all times."

I did my best not to look disappointed at Finn's words. Looking after the American twenty-four/seven was not something that I exactly looked forwards to. Keeping track of him for ten minutes had already been long enough.

As if reading my thoughts, Finn shot me a smile and said, "Don't worry, it won't be so bad. We'll take turns. Can you keep track of the American from the hotel?"

"Yes," I replied quickly. "Yes, I can."

"Good," Finn nodded in approval. "We'll go back to the hotel and keep watch on the American there...unless you'd rather watch him from here?"

"Oh no," I said immediately, really not wanting to end up in this dark, cold building all night.

Finn smiled once again, "That was just as I figured. As before, we'll go to the hotel separately. I will meet you in the lobby."

Before I could ask Finn how he was planning on getting back to the hotel, he had literally disappeared before my eyes. I blinked and tried to figure out which way he had gone, but found that was futile. Hoping that the rude cars from earlier were gone, I drove back down to the main floor of the office building and searched the area right beyond the door to make certain nobody was watching before I slipped out into the street.

The traffic light turned green almost immediately, allowing me to start across the street without delay. Thankfully, the cars on the sidewalk from earlier were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, the car driving across the street to my right kept shooting me long looks.

As soon as I had crossed the street, I drove straight inside the hotel and searched the lobby for Finn. I found him in one of the corners, looking very ordinary amongst the crowd as he scanned a magazine.

Looking up and seeing that I was slightly out of breath, Finn put the magazine back and started driving to the elevator with me, asking quietly, "More trouble?"

"No. I'm fine," I replied, not wanting to seem like everything bothered me. Finn seemed so strong and powerful. It was as if nothing ever bothered him. He could fight, plan, and do just about anything without breaking a sweat.

Not much later, we arrived at the hotel room. Finn unlocked the door and waved me inside, saying in a rather charming manner, "Ladies first."

I found myself blushing and quickly ducked into the room before Finn could notice. Once I was inside, he shut the door and then drove to the table. His mug of coffee from earlier was still there on the table. Finn took a sip of it despite the fact that it had to be quite cold by now. Turning to me, he said, "Is there anything you need, Miss Shiftwell? We might as well get comfortable since we might be here for quite a while."

"I'm fine," I replied as I drove up besides him. Honestly, I was feeling a bit tired out from earlier's events, but I would not let Finn know that.

"Alright," Finn replied. "Can you bring up the screen on your computer from earlier? The one you were using to track the American?"

"Yes, I can do that," I nodded, performing a few procedures before bringing up my computer to the screen from earlier. The red dot of the American showed that he was still by the pits. I shook my head, not understanding the logic of why he would be spending his time in the pits of all places!

"Good," Finn said, looking at the computer and then taking another sip of his cold coffee.

There was a moment's silence before I asked, "Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

Finn thought before shaking his head, "Not of the moment. Perhaps later, but not right now. You've done very well today, especially considering that this is your first field assignment. How did you feel about it?"

I thought for a moment before answering. Truth be told, the assignment had made me very nervous. The American had been very stubborn and had refused to listen to me. The other half of the mission I had spent worrying about Finn.

"It was alright," I finally said.

"Things will get easier as you get more used to this kind of work," Finn reassured me as if he could read my mind.

"I see," I replied before lapsing into silence. It was going to be a long night.

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_Review? :)  
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	7. Patience

**_I'm having a really bad day, so if this chapter is really crappy, then that's why. :S Anyways, thank you all for the reviews, it means so much to me. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: Thank you! :) Yeah, I was feeling kinda sick and didn't feel like doing much for New Year's. :P OMG! That would piss me off so much with your parents. You can't choose whether or not you go to church? =/_**

**_TRANSFORMERS-O.P.-ADDICT: Thank you! I'm so glad you're still reading. ^^  
_**

**_CutieChloe: OMG, I know! I think that's what made him so funny in the movie, you know? xD  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it! How was your New Year's Day? :)  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: I know, that part in the movie was SO funny! I don't see how Holley kept her cool so well with Mater. I probably would've ended up screaming my head off and yelling at him to just pay attention! lol  
_**

**_Pixie: Hehe, I can so see us in the Cars world staring at Finn! :D And yeah, I agree, Holley needs someone who can understand what she's saying! ;P And I feel the same way, why are there no guys who know how to be a gentleman? x_x We need real life Finns! hehe  
_**

**_Optimus' Girl: That's cool! ^^ Isn't there a sequel to that movie? I swear I heard of it or something. Oh, yeah, that would make sense. I'm not huge on reading works in progress. Of course, the one I was reading the other day was and the person hadn't updated since August. -_-  
_**

**_Shellow: Thanks! I know, they are so frigging cute! OMG, I am so jealous! British people are so awesome, you know? The accent is to die for. I was laughing so hard about how you thought they were saying panties instead of pennies! xD I bet you had a great time. ^^  
_**

**_RocktheKaos: Yeah, she's very lucky She can blush all she wants and nobody will ever know! Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Ikr? They so do NOT work as a couple. And ooh, that sounds like fun RPing Cars! I'd love to do that! Lol, I could do Mia or Tia pretty well since I'm always annoying people and saying stuff like "OMG! I love you! Blah, blah, blah..." xD  
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**_HourofTwilight: Lol, yeah, Holley is trying to help you, Mater! xD My New Year's Day was alright. I just hung out and watched Disney movies, lol. How was your New Year's Day? :)  
_**

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**Chapter VII  
**

_ ~ Patience ~_

Sitting around and doing nothing is perhaps the most boring way to pass the time. Finn and I sat by the computer in silence, both watching the red dot of the American spy. He appeared to be staying at a hotel not so far away from the one Finn and I were currently at. Since his dot hadn't moved for quite a while now, I wondered if maybe he was sleeping. However, I had a feeling that Finn would want to continue watching him even if that were true.

Bored out of my mind and far too shy to ask Finn a question, I stayed silent for another fifteen minutes before Finn turned to me and decided to start up a friendly conversation, saying, "Well, it appears that the American has fallen asleep, but I think it would be unwise to take our eyes off of him."

"Yes," I replied, mostly for the sake of agreeing with Finn.

Finn took a another sip of his coffee (I was really surprised he even had any left at this point) and then turned to me with a polite smile before he asked, "How long ago did you finish your studies, Miss Shiftwell? I have to admit that I'm quite surprised by your skills."

I blushed slightly and thought for a moment before replying, "Not long ago at all. It's only been a month or so now."

"Only a month?" Finn repeated. "You're doing extremely well! You'll be a very good spy. I take it that this is only your first or second mission then?"

"Yes, it is my second mission," I nodded, "But it is my first time working as a field agent."

"I did notice that," Finn said, a small smile curving up the corner of his lips before his voice took on a more serious tone and he added, "One thing you will learn as time goes on is that it will do you good to have lots of diversity in your skills. Being able to work as a field agent will be beneficial to you in the future."

Rather doubting that, I settled with saying, "I certainly hope so anyways."

"It will," Finn replied. "You must have patience."

After that, the two of us lapsed into silence once more. My eyelids were growing a bit heavy and I was having a hard time concentrating on the the computer screen. Suddenly realizing that it was my turn to say something since Finn had already attempted to make conversation, I asked, "How long have you been a secret agent for? You seem to be very talented."

Finn laughed, "I would not say it is 'talent'. It is just the combination of hard work and studying over a period of time. In this field, you cannot afford to mess up or make mistakes. I've been studying and taking on missions for a little over twenty-five years now."

Twenty-five years? My eyes widened and I had a hard time imaging where I would be after twenty-five years of work. Turning back to Finn, I replied, "Now I see why you're so good. Twenty-five years in this profession isn't easy."

"You're right, it isn't," Finn agreed before he cocked an eyebrow at me and asked, "Are you surprised?"

I had known that Finn was older, but I hadn't known just how much older he was. Wanting to know his exact age, but not daring to ask, I said simply, "I had known that you had worked in this field for a while, yes. I didn't know it had been quite that long though."

"It has certainly been a while," Finn said, looking reminiscent for a moment before he grew serious and said, "Each day, I remember how many close calls and predicaments I've found myself in. This job isn't at all for the faint-hearted. One must be able to die for the cause if need be."

Finn's eyes darkened and I had a feeling that he was remembering a family member or friend. I didn't usually speak of it, but under the current circumstances, I found myself bringing up my parents as I stated, "Both of my parents were spies."

"Were they?" Finn asked, turning his eyes back to me. Even though he was focused on what I was saying, I could still tell that he was feeling solemn.

"Yes," I continued on. "They were both killed during a mission when I was young. I do not remember them hardly at all."

"I'm very sorry, Miss Shiftwell," Finn said sympathetically. "It is very hard to loose those close to you. That is one of the reason why cars of our profession are told not to involve themselves in close relationships. There was a friend of mine...his name was Leland Turbo..."

Finn trailed off and I was immediately under the impression that this Leland was the reason why Finn seemed to be so sad. Glancing sideways at Finn, I said, "I was not that close to my parents. Although the incident was tragic, I do not think of it often anymore. May I ask what happened to Leland Turbo?"

"Yes, you may," Finn sighed. I noticed that despite the severity of our conversation, he was still watching the red dot on my computer screen as he continued on,  
"Leland was my previous assistant. He was more than merely an assistant though; we were great friends. Grem and Acer found Leland spying on them by the oil derricks. They mutilated him to say the least. I...I caught a glimpse of Leland's remains at the site."

Although Finn was not exactly one to get emotional, I could see that talking about Leland was hard for him. Perhaps a change of subject would help improve his mood. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't related to Leland.

"That must have been extremely difficult for you," I murmured. "It didn't hurt much with my parents since I didn't know them well, but for you, it must have been hard. I do hope you find me as an adequate assistant..."

Finn went back to his cheerful demeanor and replied, "You're doing very well. I was not expecting such impressive work from such a young student. I suppose this may not be my place to ask, but how old are you then? In your early twenties, perhaps?"

"Twenty-two," I replied, not minding at all that Finn knew my age. Mostly because I was curious, I asked quietly, "And you?"

"Me?" Finn chuckled. "I was thinking we could just stick with the fact that I'm quite old, but if you insist, I'm forty-four."

I blinked and registered this information. Alright, so Finn was twice my age. I had expected him to be older, but not quite that old. For god's sake, he could be my father! For some reason, I found this bothered me and my eyes narrowed.

Not noticing my change in expression, Finn went on, "I assume you wished to be a spy because of your parents?"

"Not exactly," I replied. "I wanted to become a spy ever since I was young. I thought it would be quite exciting and I wanted to help others."

"You're doing a very nice job of it," Finn complimented me.

Blushing, I realized just how many times Finn had complimented me tonight. This had to be the third or fourth time. Smiling shyly, I said, "Thank you. When did you realize that you wanted to work in this field?"

"When I was young just like you," Finn replied. "I also thought being a spy would be exciting and adventurous. I didn't quite understand how serious this work is back then, but I have never once regretted my decision to work in this profession. I hope you will feel the same."

I nodded and realized that my computer screen had dimmed from lack of movement. The American was almost certainly asleep at this point in time.

Obviously the better at starting conversations, Finn asked me, "I remember you mentioned your sister. So you've lived with her growing up then?"

"Yes, her name is Rachel," I nodded. "She's been a mother, older sister, and a best friend to me. I don't know what I would've done without her. She is everything to me. Getting into a university and studying would've been impossible without her."

"You're very lucky to have someone like that," Finn smiled. "I'm very glad she was able to get you into the university."

"Thank you," I answered again before I reciprocated the question and asked, "What about you? Do you live with your wife?"

Finn chuckled again and said, "I'm not married. Pursuing relationships was never something I felt like doing."

My next words popped out of my mouth from sheer impulse as I asked, "You're single then? You don't have a woman you're dating?"

"Why, I believe we've been over this, Miss Shiftwell," Finn said, glancing at me in a different way. "I don't encourage relationships, particularly not romantic ones. Besides, I think it's quite clear that I've passed my prime age. I believe it would be difficult to find a woman interested in a man my age."

Feeling very sleepy, I caught myself in the middle of a yawn and murmured, "Oh, I think you'd be surprised..."

Finn gave me another quizzical glance and asked, "What was that, Miss Shiftwell?"

Blushing and wondering just how I had let that comment slip out of my mouth, I stammered, "I just said that...that I'm certain you could find someone interested in you. The world is a very big place as you know."

"Yes, it is," Finn said before we lapsed into silence once more. I had a bad feeling that I might have angered him somehow. Finn didn't want a relationship and neither did I. We would make perfect partners for each other. ...well, if I continued lying to myself about how I felt towards Finn.

Truth be told, I found him to be the most attractive male I had ever met. There was one dilemma though; I didn't know what I wanted to do with my feelings for Finn. I liked him, but did I want a relationship with him? What did having a relationship even mean? I supposed it met you became romantic with your partner and perhaps sexual after a while.

Feeling almost dizzy, I shook my head at myself. I certainly did not want a relationship like that. Instead, I could just admire Finn's beauty from a distance, treat him like a partner or maybe even a close friend, and keep my feelings for him a secret.

Concealing one more yawn, I closed my eyes, leaned to my left, and feel asleep.

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_Review? :)  
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	8. I Would Stay

**_Hi guys! How is everyone? I really appreciate all the reviews; you guys are the best! :D  
_**

**_12DEHD: Thanks, I do feel better. ^^ That sucks about your dad. So you're agnostic then? I'm atheist (obviously, lol). Happy b-day to your friend! It was my half-birthday yesterday. xD  
_**

**_Alicia: Thanks! I love them too; they're so awesome together. :D  
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**_CutieChloe: Lol, you're right! Finn and Mater are both pretty clueless, aren't they? xD  
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**_Rosethorn: Mine was alright, thank you! Aw, so do you start school today then? That sucks! I do so NOT want to go back to classes. :( I'm really lazy and I hate school. Definitely a bad combination, lol. Thank you, my day got a lot better. I'm glad you liked the chapter! :)  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: Ikr? :D And aw, thanks! I do try to plan out the discussions, but sometimes they get written randomly. xD I'm also glad we agree about the ages. I just made some random guesses for them. ;P  
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**_Pixie: OMG, I can so see us stalking Finn! xD That sounds like a lot of fun actually! Haha, same thoughts here. Finn's definitely a guy who gets better as he gets older until he's like...really old. ;P Thank you for reading!  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: OMG, you're back! *hugs* How have you been? Yes, I did miss you! It's great to see you (talk to you) again. ^^ How do you like the new story so far? :)  
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**_Shellow: Yay, I'm so glad the chapters cheer you up! I'm glad we agree about the ages. I really don't care unless Finn was like...70 or something. What ages did you think they would be? I just made random guesses. And that's really exciting about this summer! :)  
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**_iBrizzy: Yeah, you have a point. Oh, so you're a lot like Holley? I didn't really find anyone in Cars 2 that I was like really. I guess I'm a bit like Acer since I have a weird sense of humor and stuff, lol. And I know, same thoughts on Finn! :D  
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**_HourofTwilight: Hanging out is always nice. ;P And yeah, they seem perfect! Let's see if they continue having perfect interactions in the story. xD  
_**

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**Chapter VIII  
**

_ ~ I Would Stay ~_

I woke up with a start the next morning. How long had I been sleeping for? I had no idea! Blinking around rapidly, I tried to identify my location and found myself leaning up against something to my left. I turned my gaze in that same direction and almost had a heart attack when I saw that I was pressing up against Finn McMissile! How embarrassing! As quickly as possible, I righted myself and blushed brightly.

"Ah, I see you are awake," Finn said without even bothering to take his eyes off of the computer. I wondered if he had stared at it all night long. Knowing Finn, it was very likely that he had. Finn was impenetrable. He couldn't be broken or beat no matter what you asked him to do.

"Yes, I am," I said before taking a steadying breath and adding, "I'm so sorry for falling asleep like that last night..."

"Don't fret about it. It's perfectly alright," Finn said, eyes still on the computer as he adding, "I don't mind in the _slightest._"

At those words, I gave Finn a questioning look, wondering if perhaps there was more meaning to that last sentence before I shook off the feeling and reminded myself that Finn was twice my age and not looking for a relationship. Perhaps he just thought of me as a daughter and cared for me in that way.

Before I could think anymore, Finn pointed out, "The American has finally changed position. It looks as if he's going in the direction of the airport, see?"

Remembering that we had business to do, I quickly brought my gaze to the computer and saw that Finn was quite right. The red dot was moving through the town and approaching the airport. I narrowed my eyes at him and wondered just what he was up to. He hadn't met with us, and yet, he was already trying to leave?

"I don't quite understand," I told Finn as I followed the tow truck with my eyes. "Why is he going to the airport? We haven't gotten the device from him yet."

"I'm certain he has his reasons, Miss Shiftwell," Finn told me before saying, "I'm going to call Siddley to the airport. We can discuss matters with the American as soon as I direct him to Siddley. I'll probably have to disguise myself as a security car. Excuse me a moment while I call Siddley."

"Siddley?" I asked, not quite sure what Siddley was.

As Finn drove out of the room, he chuckled and turned to me before adding, "Siddley is my personal mode of transportation."

Realizing that Siddley was an airplane, I nodded and waited as Finn went into the other room to talk to Siddley. To keep my mind on something other than Finn, I turned my attention to the computer and scanned the area for Grem. Only a few moments later, an orange dot appeared on the screen. It appeared that he was following in the direction of...oh no. He was trailing right after the American!

When Finn returned a few minutes later, I nodded in the direction of the computer and said, "Finn, come look at this. It's Grem."

Finn hurried to my side and stared at the computer. I felt his warm breath on my cheek once more. It sent strange tingles through my core. There was no doubt in my mind that I really was getting sick.

"Hm, it looks as if we're going to have to be very careful," Finn said as his eyes followed Grem on the computer screen. "I will go find the American and lead him to Siddley. You will meet Siddley beforehand. I don't want you to have any contact with Grem and his chums."

"I don't mind," I said truthfully. "I would rather stay with you."

"There's no need to worry. You'll be even safer with Siddley versus with me," Finn said, misinterpreting the reason as to why I wanted to stay with him. "You see the back part of the airport? The place that is a dark gray color on the map? That is where you will meet Siddley."

Still wishing that I could stay with Finn instead, but not certain of how to tell him that, I decided to keep my mouth shut and simply nodded.

"Great," Finn replied. Suddenly, he squeezed his eyes closed and I watched in amazement as a security disguise formed over him. He looked exactly like one of the security guards. Having never seen anything like this before, I found myself staring in amazement.

Obviously noticing the look I was giving him, Finn turned to me and raised an eyebrow before asking, "Are you alright, Miss Shiftwell?"

"Oh yes," I replied, unable to keep my eyes off of Finn's shiny new disguise. He made a very nice security guard and a handsome one at that. Feeling like I should add an explanation for my staring, I added, "I have never seen a car do anything like that before."

"Oh?" Finn asked before smiling. "Well, hopefully you will be able to learn quite a bit from working as my assistant then. I can show you how to change your color when we have more time if you would like? Changing colors is not all that hard."

"That would be very nice, thank you," I said gratefully, shooting Finn a smile.

Finn returned his eyes to the computer and said, "Alright, we really ought to start out towards the airport now. Can you conduct an analysis and see if Grem has any of his buddies following him to the airport? I don't expect him to be alone."

"I can do that," I said, following Finn to the door. Eyes focused solely on the computer, I didn't watch where I was going and accidentally bumped right into Finn! Wishing I could turn invisible for a moment, I found myself stammering, "Oh my, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean-"

"There's no need to apologize," Finn replied, "These things happen all the time. I wouldn't apologize to the door if I bumped into it and likewise, you need not apologize to me for something like this."

"Oh," I said, about to apologize again, but managing to bite my tongue just in time. Turning my thoughts to the computer, I glanced over the screen and said, "Acer is following right behind Grem. Those two seem to be the only ones driving in the American's direction."

"Hm," Finn mused as we started out into the hallways of the hotel. "I've noticed that those two seem to travel together. We'll have to keep an eye on them. Oh, and you can turn that computer off now if you'd like, Miss Shiftwell. There's no need to increase unwanted suspicion."

Noticing that Finn was right and that I still had my onboard computer turned on, I shut it off and followed Finn into the lobby. As usual, it was crowded. Finn and I had to travel bumper-to-bumper to make it through the crowd. For a few moments, I felt like I was being strangled. Perhaps I was claustrophobic. Either way, I didn't like being so close to so many cars.

Once we were outside, Finn turned to me and whispered in a quiet voice, "So you know the plan?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I will go and meet Siddley while you meet up with the American."

"Exactly," Finn replied with a firm nod. "Once you meet with Siddley, you can leave the rest to me."

"Are you quite sure?" I asked, feeling like I was leaving Finn to do all the work. "I don't mind helping if I can."

"I appreciate your attitude, but I'm quite sure," Finn said, smiling over at me. "Go meet Siddley now. There's no time like the present."

I nodded and must've blinked because when I opened my eyes again, Finn had disappeared. Trying to recall the route to the airport by memory, I turned to my left and started down the street. As usual, the streets were crowded and slow-moving. I didn't even bother looking to my left and right to see who was driving next to me. The last thing I needed right now was unwanted attention.

About twenty minutes later or so, I found myself at a hidden part at the back of the airport. Since nobody was around, I turned on my computer and used it to search for Siddley. The computer showed that he was just a kilometer or so to my right. Good; I had been going the right direction.

Flicking the computer off, I drove to my right undetected. Soon, a sleek, silver plane appeared in the distance. This had to be Siddley. I drove up to him and coughed softly to get his attention before I said, "Hello. Are you Siddley?"

"Why yes, I am," Siddley said, turning his eyes on me and smiling as he let down the ramp that let to the inside of the plane. "You must be Holley Shiftwell."

Feeling a bit flattered that Siddley even knew my name, I nodded and said, "Yes, I am. How did you know that?"

"Finn told me," Siddley said as I drove up the ramp and into the plane. "We've been buddies for about five years now. Have you been working in this field for long, Miss Shiftwell?"

"No, I haven't," I replied as I found myself in the inside of the plane. It was quite luxurious within with many features that an ordinary plane would not have. Trying not to get distracted, I added, "This is my second mission."

"Really?" Siddley asked in surprise. "You must be doing quite well then! Finn told me just how impressed he was with you."

My heart fluttered in my chest and I found myself asking, "Finn said that?"

"Indeed he did. He also said that you make an excellent field agent even though you need more self-confidence," Siddley replied before switching the topic, "Now is there anything else I can get for you or do to make you more comfortable?"

"Thank you, but no, I'm perfectly alright," I replied to Siddley.

"Good," Siddley said. "If there's anything you need, just let me know and I'd be more than happy to get it for you. In the meantime, just relax and make yourself at home. Finn should be with us shortly from what he's told me."

I nodded and drove to the back of the plane. Siddley and I waited five minutes, then ten, and then thirty. Starting to get a bit worried, I glanced out of the window and then asked Siddley, "It's been a while. Do you think Finn is alright?"

"Don't worry, Miss. If anyone can make it through assailants and masses of enemies, it's definitely Finn McMissile. Oh my..." Siddley abruptly trailed off and he started the airplane before adding, "It looks like we have a gremlin and pacer chasing after Finn and his fellow spy. I'm going to have to open the back of the plane to let them in. Hold on tight!"

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_Review? :)  
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	9. Never Better

**_Hello everyone! Sorry if this chapter is extremely boring, I promise that the next one will be more exciting. Thank you all for reading!  
_**

**_12DEHD: Yeah, I understand what you mean. Singing is alright, but I hate sitting and listening to someone preach on and on...you get the point. :P Oooh, another play? Cool! What's it about?_**

**_Crane's Girl: Hehe, it's alright! I was actually thinking that I've been doing a good job not changing my name lately. xD This is like my 6th name probably, but oh well. And cool, so do you like the original movie or #2 better? ^^ Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_Alicia: Ikr? xD On the 23rd, I think if that's a Monday? It's on a Monday anyways. Wbu?_**

**_Passion Akatsuki Nika L: Thank you very much! How's your New Year going so far? And I agree, they are a very nice couple! :)  
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**_MissCarrera: Yay! I'm so glad you're still reading. :) What chapter are you on now? You're very right; it does get humanized in places. It's just that the Cars act and think in a human-like manner sometimes and I get carried away. lol Hope you keep reading!  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Yeah, she is! I thought she was a bit skittish throughout the whole thing though. What do you think?  
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**_Em: Thank you! Yeah, I do have a dA and my username is CoconutCoral. You'll know it's me cuz I have Cars stuff everywhere on my page. ;P I'm so sorry you're sick! *hugs* How long have you been sick for now? =/ And wait, wut? Waterslides? Is this an indoor water park or something? Cuz where I live, it's like 20 degrees and there's snow everywhere. xD  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: OMG! That made me laugh SO hard, you have no idea. xD Glad you liked the chapter and I agree, Finn and Sid seem like good friends imo.  
_**

**_Pixie: Hehe, okay, here we go! *stalks Finn* Omg, you like Jason Isaacs? I love him! He's like my all-time favorite actor! He's amazing. :D He also did the voice of Leland Turbo. I wish Leland had more than his little part at the beginning of the movie. D:  
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**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Aw, I'm sorry! *hugs again* We all have down times and they suck so much. D: My MSN is thedevilsreject99(AT)hotmail(DOT)com. And if you don't have MSN, my email is timebomb115(AT)hotmail(DOT)com. Sorry to write it that way, but FF is annoying when you try to write email addresses. Glad you're liking the story! :D  
_**

**_Shellow: You started school back up yesterday, I'm guess? ;P I don't wanna go back! D: Great, we were thinking the same although I put Holley just a bit younger. Same thoughts about Finn, he's too gorgeous to be that old too. xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: You're like Sally? I wasn't expecting you to say that. Tbh , I think I might be a bit like Cars 1 Lightning because I complain a LOT and he whines a ton at the beginning of that. And I know, guys never get the hint. -_-  
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**_HourofTwilight: Glad you liked the chapter! Aw! So did school not go so well? I'm nocturnal too, lol. I try to make myself go to bed by 12:30 or 1:00 if I can on school nights. What about you? And my day is going alright besides for the fact that I'm still feeling a bit sick. x_x And yours? :)  
_**

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**Chapter IX  
**

_ ~ Never Better ~_

I chewed my lip hard at Siddley's comment. Where was Finn? Was he going to be alright? I found that my thoughts went directly to Finn and that I really didn't care what happened to the American even if it meant that we would fail our mission. My priorities had changed over the last few days. Instead of my duties being number one on my list, I found that the thing I cared most about was my partner.

"Finn, it's Sid. I'm on approach," I heard Siddley speaking to Finn through the radio.

I was thinking about changing my radio so that I could hear what Finn was replying to Siddley, but the entrance way at the back of the plane fell open at that moment. Immediately glancing out of the entrance, I saw the tow truck driving towards me with Finn behind him, trying to fight off Acer.

"Hey, doggone it. It's my imaginary girlfriend!" the tow truck exclaimed as he looked up at me.

I wanted to ask him just where he had gotten the "girlfriend" part from and that if it was part of his disguise, that he would kindly edit it out! I did not like being called anyone's girlfriend, especially not the girlfriend of this strange American. However, now was not the time to say that and I found myself motioning for the tow truck and Finn to get into the plane, calling, "Come on! Get in here!"

"Boy I tell you what, you really do want this first date, don't ya? That's a no-quit attitude right there," the tow truck said, winking at me as he sped up.

Just at that moment, bullets started pinging all around Mater and Finn. I held my breath as one of the bullets went slamming into the airplane's tires, causing Siddley to go veering off of the runway and into the grass as Finn and Acer engaged in a shooting fight.

"Hold on, Sid!" Finn called, managing to shoot a bullet straight into Acer's tire. Acer careened off course, but we still weren't safe. Siddley was flying straight ahead of him...where the grass met the water.

"It's now or never, Finn!" Siddley called as he slammed on the gas.

I watched nervously as Finn came to a halt, turned a hundred-eighty degrees, and then drove up into the back of the plane, lugging the tow truck in behind him. The back of the plane slammed shut just in time as Siddley lifted off into the air. All three of us took deep breaths of relief.

Seeing that Finn was breathing quite heavily, I turned my eyes to him with concern and asked, "Finn, are you alright?"

"Never better, Miss Shiftwell. Thank you for the concern," Finn replied, a bright look in his eyes as he settled down across from the tow truck as he added, "Now that's how I like to start the day! You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead."

Not even liking to think about the possibility of Finn being dead, I frowned and scanned the tow truck, murmuring, "I hope that device didn't fall off."

"That's the closest I ever been to missing my flight! That was -" the tow truck blabbed. I had already scanned the equipment and computers in the plane and found that I knew how to use them. I directed one of the robotic arms from the side of the plane to get the device from the American. He frowned, "Yow!"

"Still in one piece. Great," I said, looking at the device before dropping it into a miniframe computer to start the analysis. "Downloading now..."

"I gotta go to a doctor. I keep getting these sharp pains in my undercarriage," the tow truck mumbled to himself before turning around to face Finn and myself as he exclaimed, "Hey, lemme introduce you two. This here is Finn McSomething-orother. He's a First Class VIP airport whatchamacallit. And Finn, this here's my date. I never did get your name."

Wondering why he was calling me his date still, I shot Finn a sideways glance before turning to the tow truck and introducing myself, "Oh yes, sorry. It's Shiftwell.  
Holley Shiftwell."

"It's Shiftwell, Holley-" the truck started saying to Finn before the dinging of the computer sounded. Finn and I both turned to it expectantly. The cabin lights dimmed and we waited for an image to appear.

"Finally we figure out who's behind all this," Finn said.

An image was finally blasted in front of us. I glanced up at it...only to find that it was a picture of scrambled metallic parts all twisted together. Glancing over to the tow truck, I asked, "What is this?"

"Well, that's one of the worst engines ever made. It's an old aluminum V8 with a Lucas electrical system and Whitworth bolts. Shoot, them Whitworth bolts is a pain, tell you what. Them ain't metric, they ain't inches..." the American started rambling.

Not wanting to get engaged in a long conversation like when we had met and discussed the radiator, I cut him off and said, "Yes, OK, right. But who's engine is this?" After all, the engine didn't do us much good unless we knew who it belonged to.

"Well, it's kinda hard to tell from this picture, ain't it?" the tow truck pointed out, looking from me to the picture.

"But you're the one who took it," I pressed, getting a bit frustrated that the American seemed to know nothing about the picture he had taken.

"_Holley_," Finn said my voice in a reminding tone.

Blushing and wishing that I had not just embarrassed myself in front of Finn, I replied, "Oh, right. Yes, of course. 'A good agent gets what he can, then gets  
out before he's killed.' Sorry."

"Agent? You mean like insurance agent, like," the tow truck mused before he randomly broke into song and nearly burst my eardrums, "'Like a good neighbor, Mater is there'? Wait, you mean secret agents. You guys is spies!"

Mater. This had to be the American's name. It was certainly a strange name. Then again, if all Americans were like this Mater, then it didn't surprise me. I was thinking that I would prefer never to visit the Americas unless it was completely necessary.

"Holley, in how many makes and models did this type of engine appear?" Finn asked, bringing me back to the present.

I immediately calculated the information on my computer, noting that Finn had used my first name for once. A small smile crossed my face as I realized we were getting to know each other on a first-name-basis. Seeing that the results had appeared on the computer, I replied, "It was standard in seven models over a 12-year period. At least 35,000 cars were made with this engine."

Mater suddenly stuck his head through the image I had brought up in front of us so that he was face-to-face with me as he said in a drunken voice, "You're pretty."

"Yes, alright. Thank you," I said, a bit annoyed at lack of personal space.

"And so nice," Mater added, obviously not understand that I did not appreciate his comments.

"Just pay attention!" I said almost a bit snappily as I moved the image in front of Mater to block him from staring at me anymore. Finn had a slightly amused look on his face even though he didn't say anything.

Returning his attention to the picture, Finn pointed out, "This seems like a dead end. If there were something in the photo that could narrow this down a bit I'd be a lot happier."

"You might not be happy, but I bet this feller is. See how he's had most of his parts replaced? And see all them boxes over there? Them's all original parts. They ain't easy to come by," Mater said, causing all of us to switch our gazes to the boxes on the picture.

"Rare parts..." I murmured aloud, realizing that we might be onto something.

Finn's face lit up and he exclaimed, "That's something we can track!"

"Exactly!" I smiled back at Finn, glad we could share excitement about something together.

"Well done, Mater! I would never have seen that," Finn thanked the American before turning to me and adding, "I know of a black-market parts dealer in Paris, a treacherous lowlife. But, he's the only car in the world who can tell us whose engine this is. Mater, what would you say to setting up an informal task force on this one?"

"Wait, what?" Mater asked, blank-faced. I was starting to get under the impression that Americans were not so intelligent.

"You obviously have plenty of experience in the field," Finn told Mater, clearly inviting him along for our mission. I couldn't help but inwardly sigh. I was beginning to get used to working with Finn. Adding another to our group was enough to throw the dynamics off all over again for me.

"Well yeah I live right next to one," Mater said, clearly thinking about it before he added, "I don't know, Finn. I ain't exactly been much help to anybody recently."

"You're helping me," Finn said in a kind voice, one which made me wish he was speaking to me instead of the tow truck as he continued on, "Please, Mater?"

"Well, okay. But you know I'm just a tow truck, right?" Mater pointed out.

"Right. And I'm just in the import/export business," Finn said with a knowing smile before directing his focus to the airplane, "Siddley?"

"Yes, Finn?" the airplane asked.

"Paris. Tout de suite," Finn said before driving away to the front of the airplane.

Not wanting to be alone with Mater, I turned and followed Finn. I would normal have held my tongue, but Mater was really making me nervous and I didn't see why we had to bring him along. Poor Finn was about to hear a piece of my mind whether he liked it or not.

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	10. I Remember

**_Hello everyone! The part of this chapter that is written in italics is a flashback. I hope that makes sense. :P Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_12DEHD: Oooh, that sounds really exciting! I think I would like that play! What part will you play in it? Lol, whenever I hear "zombie" I always think of Dawn of the Dead.  
_**

**_Crane's Girl: That's way less times than me and I haven't even been here for a year. :P Oh really? Usually I hate sequels, so that's cool. ^^ Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_Alicia: An online course? What's it about? I don't like those. D: And ikr? It's so weird how Mater knows about engines.  
_**

**_Passion Akatsuki Nika L: That's good to hear! :D Well...mine's not starting out the best, but that just means that the new year is gonna get better, right? And lol, yes! Holley is not so happy about Mater tagging along. xD  
_**

**_Romeondjuliet4-ever: Omg, we haven't talked for like forever! Sorry about not answering emails, I don't get on my email very often anymore. :S Anyways, how have you been? :D Glad you like the story so far! Mater totally gets on my nerves too! And what is up with clueless guys? lol  
_**

**_Rosethorn: That's alright, I totally understand. :) So you have an iPod you can get internet on? That's cool! I've always wanted an iPod, but no, I still have my 5-year-old scratched mp3. xD  
_**

**_Healme13: Lol, I've done that before and forgotten to add stories to my subscription list. :P So you're a Folley fan then? Oops, thanks for pointing that out to me, I'll have to fix that bit.  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Mhm, it was probably running through everyone's mind. xD Bad Holley, you're such a teaser! xP Glad you don't mind slow chapters! Like I said before, I always get caught up in detail.  
_**

**_Pixie: Yeah, I love Jason Isaacs! I've seen him in Peter Pan, HP, and some dragon movie that I forgot the name of. Wbu? And same! I would love to see Finn, Sid, and Leland hanging out together. Mater is such a random guy, you're right. :P  
_**

**_Shellow: Thanks! Hopefully this one will be more interesting! I have a feeling I am overdoing details with this story, but oh well.  
_**

**_iBrizzy: I see what you mean now about Sally. And yeah! Lightning is definitely a complainer like me. :P I dunno why Mater keeps calling Holley his girlfriend. Crazy tow truck. lol  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Thank you! You have exams already? That sucks so much! What are your exams on? :( Same here, I just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling like an idiot. xD Btw, do you have a deviant art account?  
_**

* * *

**Chapter X  
**

_ ~ I Remember ~_

I left Mater to explore and drove over to Finn. Finn had gone to the opposite side of the airplane and was gazing at some equipment in front of him. Not wanting to interrupt, I stayed a respectful distance away from him and waited for him to turn around. I waited almost five minutes until a loud crash sounded from the other side of the plane. Finn and I both turned around to see Mater looking at us sheepishly.

"I didn't break anything!" Mater said defensively, quickly getting his tires away from whatever he had been touching.

Finn merely smiled and then turned his eyes to me, saying, "I didn't see you there, Miss Shiftwell. Is there something you needed?"

"Actually, yes. I wanted to talk" I replied, feeling a bit awkward as I glanced from Finn to Mater. It wasn't like I thought Mater was a horrible car or anything, I just felt like his presence here was unnecessary. Dropping him off to explore Paris instead of bringing him with us seemed like a good idea.

"Go ahead," Finn said, raising an eyebrow.

Lowering my voice a few notches, I whispered, "Well...it's about Mater. Do you think it's really necessary to bring him along with us? He isn't very good at keeping in disguise and I don't work well in a group. That was why my profile said I was looking for a partner."

"Mater has helped us out quite a bit so far," Finn pointed out.

"Yes, right, I know," I replied, wondering if I was saying this wrong. "I'm not saying that he hasn't been helpful. I know he has been. I just feel like perhaps his helpfulness has reached the end of the course."

"I know," Finn sighed, glancing in Mater's direction before turning back to me and saying, "Mater has a different way of looking at things than we do. As he was the one who took the picture that is going to help us figure out who is behind all this, I feel like we ought to bring him along. It won't be forever, of course. Once we complete this mission, he'll be wanted back in America for certain."

Seeing that there was really no way to get Finn to think otherwise, I gave up and merely nodded, unable to help a miserable look from crossing my face.

"He makes you nervous, doesn't he, Holley?" Finn asked, his own expression softening as he looked into my eyes. I nodded again and glanced over at the tow truck fooling around with our equipment once more. Finn followed my gaze and said, "I know he seems...different, but I can assure you that he means well. Perhaps they do things different in America. Regardless, there's no need for you to worry."

"I know," I said, not wanting to be mistaken for a little child who was scared of her own shadow. "It's just that there is one thing that keeps bothering me. Have you noticed how he's called me his date on more than one occasion? And what was that bit about me being his imaginary girlfriend?"

"I'm certain that's just part of the disguise," Finn replied instantly. "If it bothers you, you can just ask him to stop."

"I...I cannot," I stammered, blushing and looking at the floor.

Finn fixed me with a hard gaze and asked still in a low tone, "Well, why not?"

"I don't want to talk about being someone's girlfriend," I whispered back anxiously. "Besides, I already told you that he makes me nervous. The last thing I want to do is talk about dating and girlfriends and all of that!"

"Now, now, there's no need to get yourself all worked up over it," Finn reassured me, seeing that I was getting quite upset. "If it helps at all, I'll keep an eye on you and make sure that Mater keeps his tires to himself. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I looked up and met Finn's gorgeous aquamarine eyes right then. My heart gave a sudden jolt and I realized that I really had to stop denying it; I was in love with Finn McMissile. It was a new feeling to me, but I knew right then that it was love.

Before I had a chance to answer Finn's question, I heard Mater approach us and smile in a happy-go-lucky manner as he asked, "Whatcha two talkin' about?"

"We were just discussing how we imported some new weapons from Russia not very long ago. I have one on this plane as a matter of fact. Would you like to take a look at it?" Finn asked, turning to Mater with a smile.

"Well, sure! I'd love ta take a look at it!" Mater said in that strange American accident of his.

As Finn and Mater steered away from me, I noticed Finn wink in my direction. He was clearly trying to distract Mater and get him a little distance away from me. I gave Finn a grateful smile and stayed at the opposite end of the room.

Finn managed to keep Mater distracted for a good hour before he had to leave Mater to entertain himself while he went to the front of the plane to discuss plans with Siddley. I was mostly keeping to myself in the corner and getting some much needed rest. Mater continued looking at whatever it was that Finn had showed him earlier, but he soon grew bored and needed something else to entertain himself with.

"Hey lady!" Mater called, turning to me and driving in my direction. "I've been thinkin'. You know how ya wanted that date so badly?"

My heart beat a little faster and my stomach churned as I noticed the tow truck approaching me. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. Not exactly sure what to say, I glanced at the little bit of space behind me and then to Mater, "Yes?"

"Well, since our date keeps gettin' interrupted, how about a kiss instead?" Mater asked reasonably.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, looking shocked. I had only been kissed once before and to be honest, it hadn't been all that nice either. Being kissed again, especially by this tow truck, was not something I wanted!

"Is that a yes?" Mater asked, driving towards me with a wacky-looking grin on his face. Maybe he really was drunk.

"No, it's not," I replied immediately, backing up and frowning, "I don't think this is a good time."

"Well, why not?" Mater pressed, continuing to drive closer to me. "It seems like just as good of a time as any to me."

Ugh, Americans were so thick and hard to get through to! Couldn't Mater understand the meaning of no and go back to looking at the weapons or...or something? Apparently not. Trying not to look like I was panicking, I drove backwards and stammered, "I...I really don't think this is a good idea!"

"It seems like a good idea to me," Mater said, driving up to me. At this point, I couldn't back up any further. I was stuck.

"Mater, please, I'm not ready for this," I pleaded, pressing myself back against the wall. Mater either wasn't listening or was ignoring me because he continued to close the gap between us, staring at me like a starstruck lover. I didn't see why he wanted this kiss, but he was insisting on it...

"Mater! There you are!" Finn said at that precise moment, causing Mater to back up and turn his gaze towards Finn. "We're almost to Paris and I'd like you to come to the window and look at the Eiffel tower with me. It's a marvelous view from up here and it would be a shame to miss it."

Already forgetting about the kiss, Mater nodded anxiously and started following Finn to the window, exclaiming, "Ya know, I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower! Can we take a picture of it? I'd love to show my friends back home what the Eiffel Tower looks like!"

I sighed with relief as Mater and Finn drove away. That had been close...much closer than I had wanted this to come to. Being forcibly kissed like that had reminded me of four years ago and Rachel's friend named Marvin...

_ "Holley, can you just stay here for a bit while me and the guys go get some more punch? We're out already and everyone's thirsty," Rachel told me._

_It was a sticky summer day in July. Rachel, always the social butterfly, had invited a large group of her guy friends over. For some reason, Rachel made friends with men more easily than with other women. She wasn't easy or a whore, but she did tend to get along best with men._

_ "I can do that," I replied to Rachel. I had been hanging out by myself in the corner completing some homework for my studies._

_"Thanks, I'm taking the guys with me. We should be back in...um...twenty minutes or so," Rachel said before she waved a tire at me and drove out of the door. I didn't mind being alone. I actually preferred it that way._

_ A good ten minutes or so passed uneventfully. However, I suddenly detected eyes on me. Blinking, I looked up to see Marvin, a bright yellow car with shiny green eyes and a hard look on his face. Apparently Rachel had been wrong and not all her friends had gone with her to get more punch. I decided to ignore Marvin and went back to my studying. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't concentrate. The way Marvin was staring at me was more than uncomfortable._

_ When I glanced up next, he was right in front of me, eyes staring into mine in a hungry manner as he asked, "What's your name?"_

_"My name?" I repeated quietly, looking up at the bigger car in front of me as I set my studies aside. "Holley."_

_ "Of course. You're Rachel's little sister," the car stated. "You know, I always wanted to be alone with you. You're prettier than Rachel, but don't tell her that."_

_I didn't like Marvin after that. Anyone insulting Rachel hurt me like I had been insulted instead. I loved Rachel with everything I had; she was my guardian, my sister, and my beloved friend. Unfortunately, Marvin never gave me time to say anything. He drove towards me and kissed me roughly._

_ As I felt the air from my lungs being sucked away, I whimpered and jerked back, giving the yellow car a wary look. He followed me with his eyes before chasing me and hissing, "So you want to play hard to get, huh?"_

_ He slammed into me and abruptly shoved a tire underneath me. I immediately lost my balance. Marvin took the opportunity to slam into me again. The impact caused my small figure to flip over so that I was lying on my back. How I hated being on my back! It was the worst position for any car. It was next to impossible to get up without help from another car._

_ Marvin circled me a few times, making me very uncomfortable before he placed his front tires on my rear tires and started kissing across my underside, his lips sucking and licking the around each tire before going to..._other areas_._

_ Just at that moment, the door had clicked open and Marvin cussed loudly before flipping me back over again and hissing in my face, "This never happened."_

_Too scared to say anything else, I merely nodded and pretended as if it had never happened. Whenever Rachel had friends over in the future, I stayed up in my room with my door locked. To everyone else, the experience with Marvin had never happened. It was one of those little secrets that nobody ever knows about because you simply don't want them to know._

"Miss Shiftwell?" a voice broke into my thoughts, jerking me out of my flashback.

Looking up, I found that my eyes were watering and that I was shaking ever so slightly. Attempting and failing to smile at Finn, I asked, "Yes?"

"Are you alright? You look like you may be feeling a bit ill," Finn said, looking over me worriedly.

"No, I'm not ill," I replied. "I'm just...cold."

"Cold?" Finn asked, looking doubtful.

"Yes, cold," I said more firmly. I didn't like lying to Finn, but he really didn't need to know the truth this time.

"We'll be in Paris within the next ten minutes. In the meantime, I'll ask Sid if he can do something to make it a bit warmer in here," Finn said before looking at me carefully and adding, "Holley...if you ever want to talk to me about anything, I'm more than willing to listen. You know you can trust me."

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_Review? :)_


	11. Confusion

**_Hi guys! How is everyone today? I'm glad it's Friday. :) This is kind of another boring chapter, but I'll make the next one extra interesting. ^^  
_**

**_12DEHD: That's awesome! The zombie would definitely be the best part of the play! So do you practice for it everyday or what is that like?  
_**

**_Crane's Girl: I know what you mean. Cars 2 is like the only sequel I've liked, lol. I'm glad you liked the chapter. :D Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_Nachonaco: I'll try to get on this weekend! :) Btw, I was watching Ariel's Beginning last night and for some reason, I was thinking about you, lol. I love Marina and Benjamin, they're so cute! :D  
_**

**_Passion Akatsuki Nika L: Exactly! Fresh starts are always nice. ^^ And you're right! It is disturbing what he did to her. =/ Thank you for reading!  
_**

**_Romeondjuliet4-ever: Omg, we haven't talked for like forever! Sorry about not answering emails, I don't get on my email very often anymore. :S Anyways, how have you been? :D Glad you like the story so far! Mater totally gets on my nerves too! And what is up with clueless guys? lol  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Yep! She's finally in love. :) Omg, your dog's name is Marvin? Sorry about that! I just chose what I thought was a random name, you know? xP Well, I've dropped my mp3 player a LOT of times so it only works about half of the time. ;P  
_**

**_Healme13: Omg, I meant Paris! Major mess up there. Don't ask me why, but I get those two places mixed up. -_-  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: Oh my god, I was thinking the same thing about Mater! He totally needs to learn about personal space. I dunno about you, but I hate it so much when someone invades my personal space, ugh. D:  
_**

**_Pixie: Yep, Dragonheart! Thanks for reminding me! :D I liked him best in HP, I think. I love him blonde and I love it when he has to act all arrogant and all that. xD What about you? :) And yep, Finn is much more of a gentleman then Mater. xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: The only time I'm like Sally is when she has that stammering problem around Lightning. :P I do that around people I like. And yes! Bad Mater. D: Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Wow, you have a lot of science, don't you? I like biology, but that's it. Wbu? And yeah, poor Holly. :( Her past hasn't been so nice. =/  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XI  
**

_ ~ Confusion ~_

Finn was right; we landed in Paris only a few minutes later. Mater was still going on about the view and hadn't bothered me further. I was still feeling a bit flustered as Finn directed Siddley on where to land. Some memories you can never let go no matter how hard you try. Regardless, you are expected to shove them into the back of your mind and pretend that they had never happened. That was what I would do now.

"Holley? Mater? Come along now, we don't have time to idle here," Finn called to us moments later, motioning us all to get out of the plane.

Nodding, I quickly drove to Finn and then exited out of the back of the plane. Mater took his time on leaving. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. However, we eventually all made it out onto the street and found ourselves in a dirty alley in Paris.

"Alright, Sid, I think we can take it from here. Thank you for your help," Finn told his airplane comrade before dismissing him. As soon as Siddley disappeared from view, Finn and I started down the alleyway side-by-side as Finn told me, "Once we're inside, stay close. Don't bother checking VIN numbers for criminal records, they're all dodgy here."

"No VIN scans. Got it," I replied, almost driving a bit closer to Finn, but stopping myself at the last moment.

"Don't talk to anyone. Don't look at anyone. And absolutely, positively no idling. Are we clear?" Finn asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I found it odd how he was telling me all this and not saying anything to Mater, who was currently hiding behind buckets and barrels behind us for only-god-knows-why reasons.

"Yes, right. No idling. Yes, sir," I nodded before glancing back at Mater. He was hiding behind a garbage can. When he saw me, he grinned, zipped out from behind the garbage can, and then hid behind the next one. Whispering to Finn, I added, "What exactly is Mater doing?"

Following my gaze, Finn called, "Mater?"

"Yeah, Finn?" Mater replied.

"We're not here to go shopping," Finn informed him.

At that moment, we turned the corner and found ourselves in the midst of a massive Parisian marketplace. Cars were selling car parts and other useful items everywhere you looked. I made sure to heed Finn's advice and kept my head down as I drove through the streets.

Behind us, Mater turned the corner, saying, "Shopping? What do you mean? Why would I - Dagum!"

Mater continued to exclaim about certain items as we drove through the street. He fell further and further behind us, not something I minded at all. To be honest, I didn't see why we couldn't just let him go shopping, but Finn was still convinced on bringing him along. The two of us turned the corner into another dark alley. Mater was now out of sight. Motioning for me to be quite, Finn rolled along quietly before he suddenly motioned us into the shadows.

I immediately receded into the shadows with Finn as he stared at someone a little ways ahead of us, murmuring under his breath, "There you are."

At almost that exact moment, Mater came around the corner, exclaiming loudly, "Man, there are some great-"

"Mater, get back!" Finn hissed, not wanting Mater to give away our hideaway...but it was too late. Tomber, a three-wheeled parts dealer, had seen us. He immediately bolted in the opposite direction. Finn and I exchanged looks before giving chase. Instead of going straight like Finn, I took a left to see if I could somehow get ahead of Tomber. I zigzagged through the alley and then whirled around at the next street to find myself grill-to-grill with Tomber.

As the blue car tried to turn too fast, he lost his balance and toppled over. I started to zap him with electroshocks just as Finn drove between us and pushed me back, looking angry as he said, "Have you lost your mind?"

Feeling hurt and confused, I pointed out, "But I thought -"

Finn didn't even let me finish my question. He turned to Mater and interrupted me, saying, "Mater! This chap needs a tow. Hook him up."

"Sure thing," Mater replied, towing the three-wheeled car along the alley. I drove a little ways behind Finn, still confused. I didn't see what I had done wrong or why Finn had been so angry with me. Even if it was a petty matter, it had hurt my feelings.

Finn entered a small garage a moment later. Small cars started scattering like a bunch of cockroaches as Finn said, "Allez! Maintenant - vite!"

The cars quickly vacated the garage as Mater unlatched a cursing Tomber. As soon as Finn had pulled the garage door down tightly, Tomber turned to Finn with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Electroshock! Are you kidding me?"

Glancing from me to Tomber, Finn said in a calming voice, "Easy, Tomber. This is her first field assignment - she didn't know you were my informant."

"Informant?" I echoed, clearly lost at this point. This Tomber was Finn's informant and he hadn't even bothered to tell me about it?

"A rookie, eh? I never liked new car-smell," Tomber cut in before I could say any more. His insult made me fume silently. I didn't have the nerve to say anymore and even if I wanted to, I would not risk getting into trouble with Finn again.

Smiling over at his informant, Finn said, "Tomber was doing 20 to life in a Moroccan impound the first time I saved him, if I recall correctly."

"Speaking of recalls, you're getting up there in mileage aren't you, Finn?" Tomber asked, raising and eyebrow and clearly trying to change the subject.

"Alright, we get it. You both know each other, you're both old. So," I interrupted, feeling a bit irritable at Finn for not informing me about Tomber, irritable at Mater for obvious reasons, and at Tomber for insulting me earlier. Launching the photo of the car engine from my computer, I continued, "There you go, informant. Inform us."

"That is the worst motor ever made," Tomber said, looking unimpressed as he studied the picture. Suddenly, he drove closer and narrowed his eyes as he added, "Wait. That oil filter... those wheel bearings..."

"Do those parts look familiar, Tomber?" Finn questioned.

"They should. I sold them," Tomber answered a-matter-of-factly.

Even though I disliked Tomber, I was glad that we were finally getting somewhere and asked quizzically, "To whom?"

"No idea. He's my best customer, but he always does his business over the phone. I was always wondering why he needs so many parts. Now I know," Tomber chuckled darkly as he continued examining the photo.

Mater, who had been doing a surprisingly good job of staying quiet so far, suddenly drove forwards. Nodding at the picture, he pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Well, a lemon needs parts. Ain't nothing truer than that."

"Lemon?" Finn echoed, giving Mater a confused look.

"Yeah, you know," Mater started out. We all gave him a blank look as he continued on, "Cars that don't ever work right. Lemons is a tow truck's bread and butter. Like them Gremlins and Pacers we run into at the party and the race and the airport."

Turning to me and looking like he thought that we might finally be onto something, Finn said, "Holley, pull up the pictures from the oil platform. I want to know  
what other type of cars were out there."

I immediately did as Finn said and started pulling up old pictures and observing them on my onboard computer. Looking up at Finn, I told him a bit coldly, "Right. Let's see. There were Hugos. And Trunkovs."

"Mater, are these cars considered lemons?" Finn asked Mater.

Mater responded with, "Is the Popemobile Catholic?"

Realizing something for the first time, I dropped my irritability as I nodded from my computer to the photo of the motor we had all been looking at and said, "Finn. Everyone involved in this plot is one of history's biggest loser cars."

"And they're all taking their orders from the car behind this engine," Finn finished my train of thought.

"This explains it!" Tomber suddenly burst out, looking quite excited.

"What, Tomber?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Unable to keep still, Tomber drove back and forth as he explained, "Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo and Trunkovs never get together. But they're having a secret meeting in two days."

"Where's this meeting taking place?" Finn asked.

"Porto Corsa, Italy," Tomber replied immediately.

"That's where the next race is!" Mater chimed in helpfully. I resisted rolling my eyes. Of course Mater would know where the next race was being held. I remembered just how hard of a time I had had trying to get him to leave the pits because he had wanted to know if there was cable by me so he could watch the rest of his race. He was apparently a big fan of the American racing team.

"Then there's a good chance our mystery engine will be there too," Finn said, bringing me back to the topic we were focused on.

"Your chances are more than good. I just sent him a new clutch assembly yesterday... to Porto Corsa," Tomber added.

Looking like he thought we had no time to waste, Finn started towards the exit, waving Mater and me after him with a tire as he said, "Holley, contact Stephenson and have him meet us at Gare de Lyon. Good work."

As we trailed through the empty streets, I used my computer to send Stephenson, the train that worked in league with the spies, a message that asked him to meet us at Gare de Lyon. Stephenson replied almost immediately to my relief.

Looking up at Finn and Mater, I said, "He says that he will meet us there pronto."

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	12. I'm Sorry

**_Hello everyone, happy Saturday! :) I hope you're liking the story and thank you all for the kind reviews. ^^  
_**

**_12DEHD: Cool! I bet you'll be really good! :D Did you have to try out to be Jonny then?  
_**

**_Em: Thanks! I'm so glad you're still reading it. ^^  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Lol, ikr? Guys can be so annoying at times! Hey, are you a Puss 'n Boots fan by any chance? Your icon is adorable. :)  
_**

**_(): Omg, me too! I must have my bubble! hehe Glad you liked the chapter! I felt sorry for Holley in it too. D:  
_**

**_RisingMoonChild: Thank you so much for such a kind review! I really appreciated it! :D I agree with you that it's rare to have a sequel be better than the original movie, you know? Hehe, I'm hoping I can convince you to be a FinnxHolley fan by the end of this fic. ^^ Finn's awesome, isn't he? I love him along with lots of other Cars characters. I was really sad about Doc too, he really added a lot to the first movie, you know? Thank you again, and I hope you keeping reading.  
_**

**_Shellow: Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you like them. I hope this is one of my more interesting chapters, lol.  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Aw, thanks, glad you liked it! Feel free to email me whenever. :)  
_**

**_Pixie: You're a big HP fan? :D Who's your favorite character then? I love HP! Then again, who doesn't? And yeah...I never liked Tomber much. =/  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Really? :P I never got along with guys. I still don't...and that's okay, I like girls better, lol. You liked Tomber? I thought he sorta jumped all over Holley. xP  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Really? Well, physics has a lot to do with math and calculations, right? Maybe you're good at math? I suck at all sciences. :P I always found astronomy interesting though.  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XII  
**

_ ~ I'm Sorry ~_

Finn, Mater, and I continued weaving through the streets of Paris to our destination at Gare de Lyon. We did our best to look inconspicuous. Even Mater did a rather good job and had abandoned zipping back and forth between garbage cans. We didn't speak much on our journey. I supposed we all had certain things on our minds. I was in a bit better mood than earlier despite the fact that I was still upset that Finn hadn't told me that Tomber was his informant.

Finally, after what seemed like endless driving through the busy streets and dank, dark alleyways, we reached our destination. Stephenson was already there to our surprise. With him already here, we wouldn't have to waste any time delaying.

Mater was first onto the train, positively thrilled about riding on a train. I had a feeling that this was his first ride ever on one. After giving Mater a bit of space, I drove up into the train after him. Before I could get very far, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Miss Shiftwell, may I have a word with you one moment?" Finn asked me, driving up next to my side.

A bit flustered, I nodded and said, "Of course," before following Finn into the corner of the room. Mater had already gone exploring and knowing him, he wouldn't be back until he had looked over every inch of the train.

"I think I owe you an apology for earlier," Finn said with a sigh as he turned to face me. "I should have told you about Tomber being my informant. I merely forgot about it. I did plan to tell you. Since I didn't tell you, it was wrong of me to jump all over you for using the electroshockers on Tomber. You didn't know better. I know that was what you were trained to do. Please accept my sincere apology."

All of my irritability over earlier disappeared at Finn's apology. Smiling a genuine smile for the first time all day, I replied, "That's alright, Finn. We all forget things from time to time. It's just part of life."

"Thank you," Finn replied to me, returning the smile. "Perhaps I'm getting older than I think!"

"You're not so old," I replied, feeling like I had to defend his age for some reason. "Old is like my grandfather. He lived to be seventy-nine."

"Did he now?" Finn asked. "Then perhaps I still have a ways to go! Forgive me for changing the subject, but there was something I wanted to ask you about earlier. On the airplane, you seemed to go into a trance. Are you certain that you're alright?"

"Oh. That," I said, looking at the ground. I knew Finn was referring to my flashback about Marvin. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

I half expected Finn to ask what I had been thinking about, but he didn't. Instead, he went in a different direction with the conversation and murmured, "Somethings in our past we simply cannot change. However, we can leave them behind and start fresh even if we cannot just forget about them."

For some reason, I felt a surge of emotion run through my body. A bit lightheaded from all of the events of today, I found I wanted to tell Finn the truth. I wanted him to know how I truly felt about him. Taking a stammering breath, I murmured, "Finn?"

"Yes?" Finn asked, turning those big, compassionate eyes towards me.

Building up my nerve, I opened my mouth to speak just as the door came flying open and Mater burst in, grinning from ear-to-ear like a child on Christmas morning. My heart plummeted, but I wondered if maybe it was a good thing that Mater had interrupted. Perhaps this was fate's way of telling me that I should not confide my true feelings to Finn. After all, he most likely wouldn't respond well to it...

"Dagum! This place has everything! Have you been to the back of the train yet?" Mater asked excitedly, completely unaware that he was interrupting.

"No, I have not, Mater," Finn said with a small smile on his face, "but now it is time to go to the front of the train to do some analysis. Follow me."

The three of us drove to the front of the train, Mater and I following behind Finn until we reached the front car, which served as a luxury seating area and an intelligence command center. My eyes brightened as I saw computers. Great! That was something I knew how to work with.

I took a seat on the left, hoping Finn would sit in the middle, but no, Mater quickly took over that spot. I sighed and told myself to just ignore him while I pulled up pictures of recent traffic on Italian streets onto the computer. Finn and Mater scanned the screen with interest.

"Boy, I'll tell you what. That three-wheeled feller had to be right about a big meeting. You never see this many lemons in one town. Unless there's a swap meet, or something," Mater pointed out before turning to me with interest and asking, "Say, how'd you get all them pictures?"

"Well, I remotely reprogrammed Porto Corsa's red light cameras to do recognition scans," I replied simply, pretty certain that Mater still wouldn't understand.

"Wow, not only is you the prettiest car I ever met, but you the smartest too," Mater grinned at me.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I shifted and said, "Thank you. I think."

"That's a familiar sight," Mater suddenly said, nodding towards the computer screen which showed a Hugo being towed by an eastern European tow truck. "A Hugo being towed. But he looks absolutely perfect."

"Of course. They must be the heads of the lemon families," Finn nodded in agreement.

"Makes sense. If I was rich and broke down every day, I'd hire me to tow me around all the time too," Mater said.

Staring hard at the computer screen, Finn said firmly, "We've got to infiltrate that meeting. It's the only way to find out who's behind all this."

Finn was clearly right; if we could get into the meeting somehow, we would be able to figure out who was behind everything and finally have all of our answers. My eyes suddenly fell onto the tow truck in the picture and I got an idea, "Wait a minute..."

"What?" Mater asked blankly, glancing over at me.

"Hold still," I said, snapping Mater's picture before turning back to the computer monitor. A moment later, Mater's photo appeared on the screen. Using my knowledge of computers, I grafted Mater's face onto the tow truck's and looked at Finn quizzically.

To my surprise, Finn broke into a big smile, "Good job, Miss Shiftwell."

Very happy that Finn liked my idea and even happier that he had complimented me, I replied, "Thank you, Finn."

"Boy, I sure wish my friends could see me now," Mater grinned.

Turning to him, Finn said, "Mater, Holley and I are going to make you a disguise. In the meantime, I'd like you to stay up here in the front car."

"Yes, Sir!" Mater nodded as he looked over the computer screen, still finding it very intriguing. Turning over to Finn, he added, "Can I still keep watchin' the computer though? I'm seein' a lot more lemons on here."

"Certainly, Mater," Finn nodded before he motioned me out of the room with him. More than happy to leave, I quickly drove out of the room and followed Finn to a different train car. We stopped in one that was full of metal devices I had never seen before. Turning back to me, Finn said, "That was a brilliant idea, Holley. We can certainly made a disguise to fit Mater to look exactly like that tow truck."

"Thank you," I said again, blushing deeply before I realized something and bit my tongue. "I don't know much about how to make a disguise though..."

"No need to worry about that," Finn replied. "Just leave the work to me. All you'll need to do is install the voice activation when I'm finished."

"Oh, alright. I can do that," I nodded, quite relieved that I wasn't going to have to do anything that was beyond my skills. Keeping silent for a few minutes, I watched Finn assemble parts and study them intently.

As Finn continued his work, he started up a conversation with me and said, "I never asked you where you're from."

"Oh," I replied, realizing that he was right. "I'm from England. London, actually."

"London?" Finn looked up with a smile. "That's where I grew up."

"Really?" I asked, quite surprised that Finn and I had grown up in the same place. "I do love London. It's a beautiful city. Rachel used to bring me shopping once in a while if we ever had any spare change. For me, it was a thrill of a lifetime."

"There are indeed some lovely things in London," Finn agreed with a nod as he continued assembling the disguise device. "I used to enjoy just browsing through the shops when I was young. There were so many toys and things to catch my interest."

Finn chuckled at the memory and I smiled as I envisioned a young Finn of perhaps eight-years-old wandering the streets of London, wide-eyed and excited as he looked through toys shops.

Completely forgetting the device for a moment, Finn turned his full attention to me and asked, "What did you spend your spare change on?"

"Well," I found myself blushing again. "I used to love to go and look at flowers. In fact, I still enjoy it."

"There's nothing wrong with liking flowers," Finn replied. "Even I enjoy flowers. They tend to brighten things up a bit. Do you have a favorite type of flower?"

"Actually, yes. Yes I do," I nodded, thinking back to when I was young. "Rachel, my sister, bought me a black rose once when I was small. She told me that black roses are rare and that she had bought one for me because I reminded her of one. She said that I was different than most girls my age and that black roses are to be treasured. I still have my rose. I dried it and kept it in a safe place."

"Your sister sounds like a very wise young women," Finn smiled before going back to business and nodding at the device, "This is all ready to go. All we need is the voice activation and then we can give it a try."

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	13. Always

**_Thank you for the reviews everyone! I hope you continue reading. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: That's still really good! :D OMG, you're birthday is in two days? Awesome! What kinds of things do you want for it? :)  
_**

**_Em: Thanks! I'm so glad you're still reading it. ^^  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Omg, that is so funny about your cat and Puss 'n Boots! So you saw the new movie then? I thought Kitty Soft Paws was so cute! ^^  
_**

**_Cranes' Girl: Omg, I am SO sorry about your cat. *hugs* I had a kitty die from kidney failure when she was six. It was terrible because you could tell she was just getting sicker and sicker. :( I'm so sorry about your kitty. I'm sure she's in a better place though now.  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Yay, I made you a Folley shipper! *parties* hehe And that's okay! So you've had a busy weekend then? Did you do anything fun?_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Lol, ikr? Mater is awful at interrupting the moment. -_- Really? I had fun imagining them as kids too. :D_**

**_MrsChick: Yay, I'm so glad you're reading this too! Is Folley one of your favorite ships then? I just never liked Mater and so Folley just automatically popped into my head after seeing Cars 2, you know?  
_**

**_Shellow: Ikr? Mater is terrible at ruining moments. I kept thinking about what some of their interactions in the movie would've been like without Mater around, you know?  
_**

**_Snowcakie: Aw, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the story. Are you a Folley fan then? :)  
_**

**_Pixie: Awesome! HP is great, you know? I think we like a lot of the same characters. I love NarcissaxLucius, TonksxLupin, and SnapexBella (yes, I ship them and I know it's weird, but anyways! lol). :D What was your favorite HP movie? And yeah, Finn and Holley need uninterrupted moments. xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Haha, I'm pretty girly for the most part. I'm just...weird. lol Anyways, you do have a point about Tomber, I guess. I never thought about him much. lol  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Omg, that's so funny! So you don't like math then? I like algebra a bit, but geometry is not my kind of thing. :( Glad you liked the chapter!  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XIII  
**

_ ~ Always ~_

I finished applying the final touch to the devise that would be used as Mater's disguise. The disguise was being hid in an emergency light that would fit right over top of Mater's current one. It was perfect. Driving back and taking a good look at it, I realized what brilliant things Finn and I could create together. Our minds and skills complimented one another perfectly. A small smile appeared on my face without me even being aware of it.

"Finn, one hour to Porto Corsa," Stephenson told us as Finn and I both looked at the device. I couldn't help but wonder if Finn was thinking what I was thinking. His eyes had been focused on me before Stephenson had interrupted.

All business now, Finn called, "Thank you, Stephenson. Holley, are we ready?"

"Yes, the device is in perfect condition," I nodded, picking up the device with one of my tires.

Finn and I drove side-by-side through the train cars until we reached the front one. Finn opened the doors and we found Mater still playing with the computers. I had no idea how he had done it, but he had somehow gotten an Italian TV show to play on the screen. Hm. I looked in Finn's direction, but he just laughed.

"Hello, Mater. Your disguise is complete. Please follow us," Finn said, leading him into the adjacent train car so that the computer would not be a distraction.

Once Mater was in the next train car and was sitting in front of us, I drove up to him and used the robotic arm to attach the new emergency light over Mater's current one. It fit without any trouble. Adjusting it just slightly, I said, "That should just about do it."

"Perfect," Finn said, making me realize just how often we seemed to be saying perfect lately.

Dismissing those thoughts from my head, I turned back to Mater (who was obviously going to need a lot of help understanding the device) and explained, "So Mater, it's voice-activated. But you know, everything's voice activated these days."

Just as I had predicted, Mater gave me a blank look and pointed out, "What? I thought you was supposed to be making me a disguise."

"Voice recognized. Disguise Program Initiated," Mater's computer replied. Mater was suddenly looking like the Eastern European tow truck just as Finn and I had planned. We exchanged a smile and even Mater was grinning.

"Cool! Hey, computer. Make me a German truck!" Mater ordered. "Check it out. I'm wearing Materhosen. Make me a monster truck!"

Mater turned into a Dracula-like truck, then to a taco truck, and then to what he called a "funny truck". I did my best not to roll my eyes. I was glad that Mater liked the disguise, but he really did need to learn to stay focused. The device was not a play toy.

Obviously thinking the same thing as me, Finn pressed a button to stop the madness as he said, "The idea is to keep a low profile, Mater."

Looking like he had calmed down a bit, Mater turned to Finn and asked, "So I just go in, pretend to be this truck?"

"And leave the rest to us," Finn said, obviously doing his best to keep Mater from messing anything else up.

"Now hold still," I told Mater as I turned to my onboard computer. It showed that the disguise cloaking was slightly bigger than Mater. As I used the computer to dial it back to a smaller size, I explained, "I have to do the final fitting on your disguise. ...oh no, that's no good."

I had detected a very large dent on Mater that showed right through his disguise. I used the robotic arm again and directed it towards Mater's dent. Looking suspicious, Mater jerked away and gave the robotic arm a dirty look, asking, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"The disguise won't calibrate effectively without a smooth surface to graft onto," I explained, wishing Mater would just sit still for a moment so I could get the dents smoothed out. Mater, however, continued jerking around.

Obviously not understanding what I had just said, he replied, "Oh. For a second there I thought you was trying to fix my dents."

Doing my best to not get frustrated, I pointed out, "I was."

"Well then no thank you. I don't get them dents buffed, pulled, filled or painted by nobody. They're way too valuable," Mater explained.

I bit my lip, wondering if that was some sort of American thing. Dents were looked down on from everywhere I had come from. However, seeing that Mater had a stubborn look on his face, I had already started thinking of a way to work around the dents. Still though, I couldn't help questioning, "Dents are...valuable?"

"I come by each one of them with my best friend Lightning McQueen," Mater said. "I don't fix these. I want to remember these dents forever."

"So you were being serious in Paris? McQueen isn't just part of your cover?" I asked, looking a bit confused on how this rusty tow truck had become friends with a famous racecar. Then again, they were both American and who knew how Americans did things?

Before Mater could answer, Finn said, "Friendships can be dangerous in our line of work, Mater."

"But my line of work is towing and salvage," Mater stated.

"Right. And Miss Shiftwell's is designing iPhone apps," Finn smirked. I, however, did not smirk back because I was starting to have a realization. Was it at all possible that Mater was indeed just a tow truck?

"No, I meant for real. I -" Mater said, starting to look annoyed for the first time since we had met him.

Wondering if maybe he was just a spy's assistant and also not wanting Finn and Mater to start an argument, I cut in before Mater could finish his sentence and said, "It's okay. Say no more. I'll work around the dent."

"In the meantime," Finn started out, pressing a button that revealed the walls to be a weapon cache. "You look a little light on weapons."

I didn't pay much attention as Finn helped stock Mater up with weapons. Weapons were not really my specialty. My car type also couldn't store many weapons. The only thing I carried around with me as defense were the electroshockers that I had used earlier on Tomber. So instead of watching Finn and Mater, I managed to fix the disguise so that it covered the dents and still looked reasonable.

"Finn?" I called when I was finally finished. "I'm done."

Finn, who had been chuckling at something Mater had said, turned around and looked at me, "Well done, Miss Shiftwell. Mater, I think you have more than enough weapons. You shouldn't have to worry about a thing."

"Well, that's nice," Mater said, still looking around the weapon cache like a little car in a candy store. Suddenly, he yawned widely.

"It's been a very long day and it's only halfway done," Finn said, looking between Mater and me. "Mater, why don't you get some rest? You can come right into the next train car here and sleep until we arrive at our destination. If you need anything, you can contact us on the radio."

"Alright, Finn," Mater said, not even bothering to cover his second yawn as he followed us out of the train car with all the weapons and to the next one. "I am purty tired. I guess all this spy business really tires ya out."

"Yes, I'd say it is rather tiring," Finn smiled kindly in Mater's direction before turning to me and waving towards me to follow him.

I immediately followed Finn out of Mater's train car and into the next one. I was very tired and really did need my sleep. We had been awake for the last two nights and despite the fact that a spy should never act tired, I found that my eyelids were very heavy. As soon as we had entered the next train car, I drove to the corner and closed my eyes. I almost instantly found myself being dragged into darkness when...

"Miss Shiftwell?" Finn's voice came from somewhere next to me, dragging me right back into reality.

Blinking my eyes back open, I asked, "Yes?"

Sensing that I was very tired, Finn gave me an apologetic look as he said, "I know you must be very tired, but we must discuss our plans for when we arrive at Porto Corsa. We have already planned out Mater's part, but we must figure out our own."

"Oh. Right. Of course," I said, blinking myself awake and ignoring the fact that I was starting to get a headache. Glancing over at Finn, I realized that he wanted me to get the Eastern European tow truck alone somehow. "I can pretend that my grandfather broke down and electroshock the tow truck once we are alone while Mater goes back and takes his place."

"You don't mind?" Finn asked, looking slightly surprised. "I know you don't like interacting with a group of criminals..."

"I trust you," I replied simply, finding Finn's eyes and realizing that we were quite close to each other.

"Why thank you," Finn said, lips curving in a smile. "You've come a long ways in just a few days."

"Thank you," I replied, looking up into Finn's eyes. A sudden impulse tugged from somewhere inside me and I felt like driving forwards and just touching my lips to his. I had never had a real kiss before and it couldn't hurt to find out what one was like.

Unfortunately, before I had time to make my move, Finn looked over his shoulder and drove a few inches away from me before saying, "After Mater joins the group of Hugos and enters the lemon meeting, I want you back with me. Can you detect my presence from that computer of yours?"

"Yes, I can do that," I nodded. "Will you be waiting from quite a distance?"

"No," Finn shook his head, dropping his tone of voice a few notches. "I'll always be close by, Holley."

For some reason, those words went straight to my heart. I looked up at Finn and smiled. If this was what falling in love was like - to feel wanted and cared for - I never ever wanted it to end.

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	14. Different

**_This chapter is a bit boring again and I'm sorry for that! It can be hard to add new exciting stuff to the plot sometimes, but I hope you like the chapter anyways. :)  
_**

**_12DEHD: That does suck! How old is your brother again? I would hate sharing a room so much! My room isn't huge, but it's not small I guess. I hope you get everything you want for your b-day! Are you having a party after school tomorrow?  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Aw, thank you! Those two are adorable together, you know?  
_**

**_Cranes' Girl: That is really sad. :( It's horrible how you can tell when they're getting sick, you know? I hate watching animals suffer so much. The vet told us that we were going to have to put my cat down if she hadn't died in the next few days (she died that day and I guess that was good so at least she could die at home). Anyways, it took me forever to get over her. I'm closer to my pets then other people really. They're so special in their own ways.  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Aw, thanks! You like fluffies? Me too. :) I'm trying not to rush them, but I don't want to drag it out too long, you know?  
_**

**_MrsChick: Oh yes, it's very hard when you like someone and you can't tell them. I've been through that SO many times. :S OMG, I feel the exact same way. We think alike or something. It seemed SO wrong when Holley said she was Mater's girlfriend. The whole scene was just weird. Besides, how are they suppose to have a relationship when Holley leaves right away with Finn during the race at Radiator Springs?  
_**

**_Shellow: Exactly. I kept saying "OMG, Finn totally would've been giving Holley lovey looks if it weren't for Mater sitting in between them!" lol And yeah, she needs to just give him a big smooch. That's what I would do. xD  
_**

**_Snowcakie: Awesome! And lol, what do you think Finn would've done if they kissed? :P Lots more Folley coming up! :)  
_**

**_Pixie: Really? I tried writing a fic about them when I was 10 and then deleted it on accident when I got to page 40. x_x I like them because they both are so different and always hate each other in the movie, but anyways. :P 3 is your favorite? What's your favorite bit in it? I think my favorite movie is 5 (because it has the most Lucius, hehe). :D Glad you liked the chapter!  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Omg, really? :P I'm into really girly clothes with sequins and shiny crap. xD Then again, I wear kids clothes for everything because I'm so damn short. -_- You're not weird! I like a lotta weird characters as you know. :P  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: I hate trig! lol I had all those formulas memorized and now I forgot them again. Oops. xP Haha, hopefully Holley will have more luck soon!  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XIV  
**

_ ~ Different ~_

Finn, Mater, and I arrived at Porto Corsa much too early for my liking. It would've been nice to nap for just an hour, but there was no time for that. Finn had ushered us all out of the train immediately and into the town. Turning to us, he nodded in the distance and said, "See that casino? Mater, I want you to hide directly behind it. Holley, you see those Hugos and the tow truck right outside of the casino? Those are the ones I want you to talk to."

"Alright, Finn!" Mater exclaimed, already driving towards the casino without waiting for any more direction.

Finn laughed and shook his head fondly at Mater before turning to me and adding, "I'm going to be watching from outside the cafe to your right. Join me there once Mater's safely inside the casino. Are you certain you can do this? There's no room for messing up anymore."

"I can do it," I nodded with a deep breath, glancing in the direction of the Hugos and tow truck. The Hugos were small and not so menacing looking. The tow truck was a bit of a different story, but if I played my part well, there should be no problem.

"Great," Finn said, interrupting my thoughts. "I'll be watching you. I'm certain you'll do fine. Go on now. I think Mater is more than ready."

Nodding, I started away from Finn, picking out a few Italian phrases from the back of my mind to say to the two truck. When I turned around to see if Finn was watching, he had disappeared. Blinking, I told myself that this really shouldn't surprise me by now. After all, Finn had a tendency to disappear every time I turned my back on him.

As I approached the Hugos and the tow truck, I heard them talking amongst themselves as a Gremlin passed by them, "Gremlins. Man, those are some ugly cars. Look like someone stole their trunks."

Taking a deep breath, I suddenly zipped out in front of them and made my best attempt at an Italian accent as I called, "Scusatemi, tutti! Signori!" All the Hugos and the tow truck turned to look at me. Glad that I had gotten their attention and ignoring the butterflies in my stomach, I continued on with exaggerated tones of voice, "Mio nonno, my grandfather, has broken down. If one of you would help I would be so thankful."

"Sounds like you need some 'roadside assistance'," the Eastern European tow truck said, driving forwards with a smile on his face.

"She was talking to me, Ivan," one of the Hugos said, driving forwards and glaring at Ivan, the tow truck.

I sighed as Ivan turned to the Hugo in annoyance and said, "Oh really? Prove it!"

"No, no, don't fight over me," I protested, hating nothing more than having a number of men fighting over me. I didn't even like it when one male turned his attention to me, but now was not the time to worry about it. Keeping the flirtatious lilt in my voice, I nodded towards Ivan and added, "Signore Tow Truck, per favore?"

Ivan smirked happily and gave the Hugo a satisfied look before following me around to the other side of the casino. Mainly because I couldn't stand to have him looking at me any longer, I turned around and zapped Ivan with my electroshockers. He was unconscious, but wouldn't stay that way forever. Turning to my right, I noticed Mater watching me with blank eyes.

Having no idea what he was up to, but certain that this wasn't the time for messing around, I hissed, "Why aren't you in disguise?"

"I...uh..." Mater stammered, still blank-faced as he glanced towards me and the unconscious Ivan.

"Come on, there's no time. Go!" I urged, having no idea how long Ivan would stay unconscious for.

"Okay, okay. Computer: disguise," Mater said, immediately turning into a replica of Ivan. Using my onboard computer, I followed Mater's progress until he rejoined the rest of the Hugos. A few moments later, a limo car carrier approached. Mater drove up to it after some urging by the Hugo next to him and then hauled Victor (that was what my computer identified his name to be) into the casino.

Sighing with relief and hoping that Mater knew better than to mess this up, I spoke into my radio to Finn, "He's in."

"Great," Finn replied. "I'm right outside the cafe."

Glancing in the cafe's direction, I sped up and weaved through the streets of Porto Corsa before slowing down a bit once I reached the cafe so as not to attract attention. I slowly drove up to Finn and parked next to him.

"Well done, Miss Shiftwell!" Finn smiled over at me. "You performed flawlessly down there. I think you might have even convinced Mr. Ivan to agree to marry you."

My face flushed brightly and I moved my mouth wordlessly. Saying something like that was so uncharacteristic for Finn, yet I had to admit that he had a point. All of the Hugos and Ivan had been ogling me in a very uncomfortable way.

"Mr. Ivan is currently unconscious behind the casino," I finally pointed out, looking at Finn out of the corner of my eye.

Finn laughed and said, "That should teach all the men to stay away from you! Anyhow, please pull up the computer screen. We need to track Mater's progress. Knowing Mater, he might need your help. Is your radio still connected to his?"

"Yes, of course," I said, immediately bringing up the onboard computer screen to show Mater towing Victor through the casino with all four Hugos surrounding them. Mater was looking around in wonder, already acting rather strange for Ivan.

"Wow, this place looks like it's made out of gold!" Mater exclaimed, causing both of the Hugos on either side of him to exchange a look.

Sighing, I spoke into my radio and warned him, "That's because it is, Mater. Now, be careful what you say."

"Why is that? What do you mean don't talk to you?" Mater said aloud to me and to the Hugos. I resisted losing my temper and took a deep breath. This was not going well at all. The Hugos probably were starting to think that Mater was mentally impaired by the way he kept talking to himself.

"Mater, please, you can't keep speaking out loud to me!" I replied hastily.

"So you want me to stop talking to you. Right now?" Mater continued on, obviously not getting the point.

One of the Hugos driving next to Mater finally commented on his behavior, "You are acting strange today, Ivan."

I chewed my lip nervously, a bit afraid that Mater was going to mess up here. Using his own computer that had come with the disguise, Mater identified the Hugo next to him and replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about...Alexander Hugo, aka 'Chop Shop Alex.'"

"Oh for god's sake..." I whispered under my breath, really having had it with Mater. Didn't he know that you didn't say aka aloud and that it was an acronym for also known as? That tow truck really needed to go back to school.

Still reading on his computer that was invisible to everyone else in the area, Mater continued on, "Hey, you got a lot of aka's, Alex. But I guess that makes sense  
seeings how you's wanted in France, Germany, the Czech Republic..."

"Mater! Stop it!" I called frantically. I didn't know what Mater thought he was doing, but what he was doing at the moment was blowing his disguise!

"Okay, okay. Keep your voice down. You're gonna make me arrested," Alex whispered to Mater before turning to the other Hugos and adding, "Don't mess with Ivan today. He's in a bad mood."

"He's so good!" Finn chuckled as Mater, the Hugos, and Victor entered a private room already filled with lemon cars. They were all talking to each other and clearly waiting for the leader, the one we were all waiting for.

Unable to help it, I gave Finn a raised eyebrow look. Finn always seemed to be complimenting Mater on this or that. I wasn't exactly jealous of Mater, but I did find it rather odd that Finn continued to be so impressed with Mater's skills.

Seeing the look I was giving him, Finn gave me an understanding look and said, "I know he's not the type you trained to work with, Shiftwell, but you must admit that he's done a fine job so far. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be able to look into this meeting right now."

"Yes, I know," I replied before adding, "He really could have done without the 'aka' bit though. He really scared me there."

"_Holley_," Finn said in a firm tone, getting me to look at him and stop what I was saying.

Sighing, I remembered what I had learned from studying and said, "Right. A good agent never critiques other agents just because they do things different than yourself. Got it."

"That's not what I was going to say, but you certainly did a fine job memorizing the book on how to be a good agent," Finn smirked as the lemons on the computer screen continued chatting amongst each other. There was still no sign of the lemon leader.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I blushed and was about to say something when the doors to the private room of the casino were flung open. Finn drove a bit closer to me as he examined the computer screen. We both waited...and waited...and waited.

Finally, a small monocular-wearing car came driving into the room, "Guten Tag!"

Everyone in the room sighed and looked disappointed. One of the grumpy-looking pacers pointed out, "It's just the professor."

"Zundapp, when is he coming?" Victor, the car Mater had been towing earlier, questioned.

Looking rather bored, Professor Zundapp looked around the room and said, "He's already here."

Finn and I watched closely, holding our breaths as monitors descended from the ceiling. On the screen was a picture of the same engine that we had gotten a picture of earlier. Unfortunately, there was no more of the car to be seen other than it's engine.

"Welcome everyone," the car from the computer screen said in a garbled, scrambled voice. "I wish I could be with you on this very special day but... my clutch  
assembly broke. You know how it is."

As all the cars nodded sympathetically and offered condolences, Finn turned to me and ordered, "Descramble that voice!"

I immediately attempted to unscramble the voice, but my computer kept flashing a red "X" at me. Turning to Finn in frustration, I replied, "I'm trying... It's too  
sophisticated!"

"We are here to celebrate. Today all your hard work pays off. The world turned their backs on cars like us. They stopped manufacturing us, stopped making our parts. The only thing they haven't stopped doing is laughing at us. They've called us terrible names..." the car from the computer screen continued, pausing to let the other cars in the room echo their frustration before continuing on, "Lemons. But their insults just give us strength. Because today, my friends...all that ends."

The screen in the casino switched from the the car engine to live footage from the race. We all watched as one of the racecars suddenly stopped and shot off a plume of smoke as she went crashing into a wall on her right.

I quickly turned to my computer and tried to figure out what had just happened. Finn and I were only now realizing just how big this problem was. Was it too big for the two of us and Mater? Only time would tell.

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_Review? :)  
_


	15. Together

**_Okay, so I adding some of my own stuff to this chapter so it shouldn't be so boring (I hope). Hope you like it!  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Awesome! Does your new laptop work well, I hope? Omg, same here. That part doesn't keep my attention unless I can see Professor Z. xD  
_**

**_Cranes' Girl: How old was your kitty? It sounds like you two were very close. I know what you mean though, I have two cats that literally follow me everywhere. They're just great and I love them to death. Dunno what I'd do without them really, you know? I've grown up with one of them and she's the sweetest thing ever. When do you think you're going to move then? I get what you mean about no cat ever replacing yours. I have that same feeling. Each cat is different though and I don't like to think of it as replacing a different one. It's just giving another cat a loving home. :) Well, you're talking to an atheist, but I did use to believe in god and pray and all that. Well, things in my life kept screwing up again and again and again until the point where I was like "There really can't be a god. That or he could care less about the people who pray to him." So...I haven't believed in anything for a long time now. I'm actually happier that way, I never liked all the church stuff anyways...and now I am SO off topic. :P  
_**

**_MrsChick: Me too, I did like that bit with Mater as Ivan. I liked his conversation with Alex. Am I the only one who finds Alex cute? I thought he looked adorable in that party hat. xD And yeah, of course Finn would have to compliment Mater as usual. Is it just me or did Finn compliment him WAY too much in the movie? -_- Same here! I mean, it's like they are trying to put off their date or something. I can totally see Mater bringing her tractor tripping and her kind of silently freaking out. =/ Haha, I know, it's cool! Chick fans think alike. :D  
_**

**_Shellow: Omg, same thoughts exactly on Mater! I like the bit where Holley panics when she sees Finn is captured. It's the moment in the movie where she should realize she's in love with him. Damn you, Mater! x_x  
_**

**_Pixie: Remus is pretty awesome, isn't he? :) Hm...I like the bit where Lucius is trying to get Harry to give him the prophecy. xD He looked really scruffy and hot in HP 6 though, you know? I get so jealous of the girl who plays Narcissa. :P And yep! Finn is complimenting her a lot.  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Me too! I really wish I could talk like Holley. xD Oooh, I hope you get good results! Was the test hard?  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XV  
**

_ ~ Together ~_

My eyes were still on the racecar who had just gone smashing into the railing. I had never seen anything like this before. How were these lemons destroying the cars' engines? There had to be an explanation for it! Without delay, I whipped out my onboard computer and started performing calculations to see if I could figure out just what was going on here. I needed an answer and I needed it fast.

"What just happened?" Finn asked in alarm.

Already analyzing the data, I replied, "I'm working on it."

Since I hadn't been expecting the crash, it was hard to get too many details from it. The lemon leader continued talking, but I kept my gaze on the data instead. Just as I was trying to figure out where the previous crash had come from, I heard an extremely loud _boom_!

"Holley?" Finn pressed, obviously just as concerned as I was.

"I'm detecting an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse," I replied, replaying the second crash on my computer. Out of the corner of the screen, I found a beam of red light that appeared to have hit the car. I traced the beam backwards to see none other than Grem and Acer on top of a tower with a WGP camera pointed directly at the racers. Turning back to my partner, I said, "Finn, it's the camera!"

"Where?" Finn asked hastily.

"On top of the tower," I replied. "Grem and his friend are there."

By the time I looked back next to me to see what Finn was doing, he was already gone. This time, I wasn't so surprised to find that he had disappeared, but there was an uneasy feeling from somewhere inside of me that I couldn't let go. Finn and I were dealing with a lot more than we could handle at the moment. There were twenty times the number of lemons as us!

"This was meant to be alternative fuel's greatest moment," the lemon leader continued talking in that scrambled voice as cars were shown knocking over containers of allinol and giving it dirty looks on the screen in the lemon meeting. "And we, the owners of the world's largest untapped oil reserve, will become the most powerful cars in the world! They will come to us and they will have no choice, 'cause they will need us. And they will finally respect us. So hold your hoods high. After today you will never again be ashamed of who you are. Long live lemons!"

There was another ear-splitting crash as another racecar blew an engine and went spinning into the middle of the track. Another racecar went flying into him and before long, there was a huge pileup of crashed cars.

I chewed my lip nervously. Where was Finn? Directing my gaze to the tower, I suddenly noticed Finn in the air being flown away by a chopper. My heart leapt into my throat and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

One word escaped my lips, "Finn."

Panic surged through every part of my body as I forgot everything I had been taught except for one thing. A good agent was suppose to do whatever it took to not get herself killed. Very well, I could do that. Turning away from the cafe, I started speeding down the street and in the direction Finn was being brought. Oh Finn, why did you have to get yourself caught? What if something happens to you?

My heart raced with worry. The worry was not for myself, it was for Finn. I found I didn't even care what happened to myself as long as I knew what would happen to Finn. I had to save him, had to help him! The question was how could I?

Mater. That was the first thing that popped into my head. I couldn't save Finn alone, that was for certain. If I was going to help him, I was going to need help. I didn't particularly like Mater, but he might be Finn's only hope!

As I rushed down the street, I spoke into my radio and said frantically to Mater, "Mater. Abort the mission. They've got Finn. Get out of there. Get out of there right now!" I repeated myself a few times mainly because Mater was so slow and it sometimes took him a few tries before he understood everything.

I waited for Mater's response and went flying around the corner...and came to an abrupt halt. The Hugos who had been with Ivan the tow truck earlier were blocking my way. _Bugger_. If I was taken captive, then there was no help for Finn!

I whipped around and found myself face-to-face with none other than Ivan himself. Giving me a dirty smile, he said, "How is your grandfather?"

Trapped, I looked in every which direction just to make certain there was no way out. I chewed my lip until it bled. There was really no way out of this situation. The only weapon I had were the electroshockers in my front right tire. Even if I did use them, there was no way I stood a chance against five cars.

"What is your name?" Ivan asked me, fixing me with dark eyes.

"Hailey. Hailey Shifter," I said, making up the name that popped into my head.

"Liar," one of the Hugos said while another one drove straight into me and rammed into my side. I gasped from the pain and felt the air leave my lungs for a moment. Another one of the Hugos started to drive towards me, but Ivan stopped him.

"You're Finn McMissile's assistant," Ivan stated firmly. "Right this way, assistant."

The Hugos drove on all sides of me while Ivan started leading me through the dark alleys. I was tempted to try and flee, but knew that if I so much as edged to my left, a Hugo would come crashing into me. I wasn't made for crashes. Only a few more would be enough to kill me.

We didn't drive for very long. Only a few minutes later, I was escorted into a tall building. Shaking my fuzzy head, I looked upwards to see that we were inside of Big Bentley, the largest clock in all of Britain. Something told me that we were not here for a good reason.

The door to the clock slammed shut behind us and Ivan turned to me once more. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "I can make this simple or hard for you. If you answer my questions, things will be simple. If not, things will be hard for you. Who else is working with you and Finn McMissile?"

"No one," I replied in a monotone, having become a pretty good liar.

Ivan studied me for a moment before pointing out, "You know, I hear that secret agents always have a radio attached to them at all times. Flip her over."

"W-what?" I exclaimed as the Hugos rushed at me and flipped me onto my side. My radio was attached behind my front wheel. It took less than a second for Ivan to find it and yank it away from me. He looked over the device carefully.

"It says you are connected to Finn McMissile and to 'Mater'. This Mater, he also works with you," Ivan stated.

"No!" I said much too quickly, causing all the Hugos and Ivan to smile amongst each other. I felt like slapping myself for making it so obvious that Mater was with me, but I couldn't help it so much. I hated being tilted on my side like this. It was a car's most vulnerable position.

"You will contact this Mater and ask him where he is," Ivan said, holding the radio by my lips.

This time, I remained calmer and despite the fear raging inside me, I said quietly, "I will not."

"Yes, you will," Ivan replied firmly. "Listen, lady. The more you delay, the more we get to torture you."

As if on que, one of the Hugos drove up closer to me and placed on of his tires on my underside before starting to run it up and down my undercarriage. This time, I smacked down on my lip to keep from crying out and felt blood explode in my mouth.

"A-alright," I gasped as the Hugo put his tire on a sensitive spot. Even though it was against my will, I couldn't let this Hugo continue what he was doing. Turning to the radio, I asked in a quavering voice, "M-mater? Where are you?"

"Is that you, Holley?" Mater replied immediately. "I gotta go warn McQueen! They're gonna try and kill 'im!"

Bloody hell! So the one time I didn't want Mater to answer a question directly, he gave me a straightforward, simple answer. Ivan immediately yanked the radio away from me and threw it across the room. All my connection to my colleagues was gone.

"It seems we have this 'Mater' to take care of. He is a tow truck, no? You used him as a fake replica of me," Ivan said to which I made no response. Turning to the Hugos, Ivan jerked a tire at me and said, "You watch her. I will go take care of Mater."

Without waiting for a reply, Ivan turned and drove out of the door, leaving me alone with the Hugos. They were silent for a moment before one said, "I wish the others would hurry up and get here with Finn McMissile. I'm so bored."

"Me too," another Hugo chimed in. I would've tried to escape while the Hugos chatted amongst themselves, but it was impossible when I was on my back.

"You two are stupid," a third Hugo said. "We got _her_."

Even though I was looking at the world upsi-down, I knew that all four pairs of Hugo eyes had turned to stare at me. There was a long moment of silence while the wheels in their minds turned. I didn't want to know what they were thinking, didn't want time to go on.

"Hey lady, you're actually kind of pretty," one of the Hugos said, driving up to me and running his tire over my undercarriage once more, making my breath quicken and creating beads of sweat on my forehead. Glancing behind him at the other Hugos, he continued on, "I could use some help over here, you know."

The two other Hugos drove forwards and each held each of my front tires steady. I wasn't going anywhere. The first Hugo suddenly drove on top of me. My eyes widened in fear and my whole figure shuddered slightly as I felt the Hugo's heavy weight on top of me. He stroked me a bit more with his tire before smirking and calling out to the others, "Gee, she even smells nice."

"Yeah, yeah, just get it on already, will ya?" one of the Hugos holding my tires complained.

"Yeah, I want a turn too!" the other Hugo said.

Wincing, I snapped my eyes shut. I didn't want to know what was going to happen to me. I didn't want to be here. All I wanted was to be okay. Actually, no, that wasn't quite true. I wanted Finn and myself to be okay...and _together_.

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	16. Without You

**_Thanks for continuing to read this everyone! I just realized how terrible I am at choosing chapter titles. My mind always goes blank when I try to come up with one. Does that ever happen to anyone else?  
_**

**_CutieChloe: You were choking on your food? I choke on soda all the time. :P Lol, okay, so what's this video about? xD  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: OMG, that is so sad! :( I'm so sorry about your horse, that must be awful! *sends you lots of hugs* Why do you have to sell the other one? D:  
_**

**_MrsChick: Glad you liked it! :D Hehe, so glad you think the same about Alex! I showed him to my mom and she said he wasn't cute. -_- I liked all the lemons besides for Grem. Acer is cute and I love Professor Z. What about you? Hehe, yes, we have good taste! So...now I'm wondering who your other favorite Cars characters are. :P Maybe we're the same. ^^_**

**_12DEHD: Aw, you didn't have a nice b-day? I'm sorry! D: Not much is new with me besides for the fact that I had to get up extremely early to go to the freaking orthodontist. I hate that place. :S  
_**

**_Shellow: Yeah, Holley needs a hug! Hm, well, probably not. I'll have used up all my ideas on this fic, I think. I'm going beyond just the movie though, so there's still a lot more story left. ^^_**

**_iBrizzy: Oooh, that sucks. And it's alright, I understand. :) Ikr? Bad Hugos! . Alex is cute though. :P_**

**_Rosethorn: It's alright! What's the history project about? Haha, yeah, the Hugos should go die in a hole and that would be very sweet if Finn said that to Holley later! :D_**

**_Lulu: Um...no, actually not. :P Thanks for pointing that out, seems like I have some editing to do.  
_**

**_Pixie: You're a big Remus fan then? I love him and Tonks. They're so cute together imo. What do you think? Haha, you're right. You know, they really should have done a kissing scene or something with him. It's such a waste not to. :P The scene in Big Bentley is one of your favorites? Same here!  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: No problem! :) Omg, I know that feeling, isn't it awful? It's like "wtf this this stuff?" I'm sure you did alright though! Thanks for reading.  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XVI  
**

_ ~ Without You ~_

Anticipation seems to slow down time. Sometimes, as in my case, it almost seems to stop. I had my eyes clenched shut and my whole body was tense as I laid pinned down on the hard ground. Why oh why had I ended up in this field agent business? This was the reason why I was where I was right now. Then again, if I hadn't been a field agent, I never would have met Finn. Maybe it was worth it after all.

The metallic taste of more blood filled my mouth as I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. I could feel the Hugo on top of me groping me all over. It went from slow touches to frantic grabs and pushes until he finally did the dirty and slipped inside me.

This time, I did cry out. Blood leaked down my chin and I couldn't help but open my eyes. I found myself eye-to-eye with the Hugo, who was obviously having the time of his life with this. His thrusts inside me were jerky and uncomfortable. I just wished this would hurry up and end, but it seemed to drag on and on while I felt strange things happening inside me. Jerks, tremors, and the clenching of twisted metal caused me to gasp and caused sweat to run down my forehead.

The Hugos were still having a ball of this. Their laughs and cackles echoed around in my head and spun inside it until I felt dizzy. I knew I should try and distract myself, but my mind was empty save for the nasty words the Hugos threw at me and the frantic pounding of my heart which had somehow ended up in my head. Thump, thump, thump. I heard it beating there over and over again, heard the panting of my own breath, and suddenly heard...

Crash! The door to the area I was being held captive was thrown open. A loud voice asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

I immediately felt the Hugo on top of me retreat and then felt myself being pushed over to a more reasonable position. My vision swum before my eyes and I felt the need to get sick. Realizing just how embarrassing that would be, I fought the urge and closed my eyes once more.

Another Hugo, obviously the leader of the Hugos, drove forwards and glared at the Hugos who had been assaulting me, demanding, "You know what the Professor said! We are to tie them up, not do what you were doing with the prisoners!"

For some strange reason, I felt relief at the thought of being tied up. Being bound was much better than what I had just been through. I never wanted to go through that feeling ever again.

"We were just having a bit of fun," the Hugo closest to me pointed out. "Do you have the other prisoner?"

"Yeah, he's right here. We had to put him under because he was making too much of a fuss," the Hugo leader replied.

Suddenly, I realized something. The other prisoner had to be Finn, right? Forcing my eyes open, I glanced in front of me to see the sleek, silver car in front of me with his eyes closed. My heart jumped into my throat and I wondered if he could be dead...

Not caring who was watching me, I tried to drive forwards, but found that my tires were stiff and didn't work quite right after being held at such an awkward angle earlier. I skidded forwards and somehow managed to brake just in front of Finn.

"Finn," I whispered frantically as I searched his face. "What have they done to you?"

Another loud outburst of cackles was the response to my comment, but I didn't care anymore. I didn't even bother to look at those horrible lemons as I concentrated on Finn. My eyes searched him anxiously. Besides for the fact that he was unmoving, he seemed to be unharmed. He didn't have a single dent or scratch anywhere. Oh Finn, please wake!

"Well?" I heard one of the Hugos press. "Get a move on it. Tie 'em up. We should have 'em tied before Grem and Acer get here."

I heard cars driving up around me, but ignored them. Instead, I reached up with a tire and stroked Finn's cheek. He was cold...so cold. He couldn't be dead, could he? Tears formed in my eyes and my vision went blurry as I leaned forwards and suddenly kissed his bottom lip on impulse, murmuring, "I love you, Finn. Please...p-lease d-don't leave m-me..."

I noticed I had gotten blood on Finn's lip and leaned forwards to wipe it away when I felt someone grab me and jerk me backwards. Thick, rough rope was twined around me, keeping me in one place. My thoughts were not on the rope though. The slow tears continued to drip down my face as I thought about Finn.

"No, you idiot! Don't tie them up face-to-face! I don't want them talking to each other. Tie them up bumper-to-bumper," the lemon leader ordered once more.

I was turned around and slammed up against Finn in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. We shouldn't be touching each other like this unless...well...I'm sure you know what I'm thinking.

Noticing my tears, the Hugo in front of me suddenly chuckled and asked, "Are you crying for your partner? He's not dead yet, you know. He's just unconscious. We have a much worse death in store for the both of you and your little tow friend."

Tow friend? By that, he was obvious referring to Mater. I, however, did not care much about Mater despite how bad that sounded. My thoughts immediately went to the fact that Finn was still alive. I had heard what the Hugo had said a worse death being planned for us, but if either of us was to be killed, I wanted it to be together. If I had Finn by my side, I could face anything, even death.

"Give her the gas. I don't like how she's staying conscious through all this," the Hugo leader ordered again.

Too busy worrying about Finn to realize what this meant, I was surprised when something was forced to my mouth. I tried not to breath in the substance, but it was impossible not to. I needed air as does everyone in order to breath. Almost immediately, I felt myself growing sleepy. Rest sounded so nice...so comfortable...

Ding, dong, ding dong. A loud chiming noise woke me up later. I had no idea just how much later it was, but I was thankful just to be awake again. Trying to get my bearings, I saw that Finn and I were strapped in the large divots of a huge clock. Clock pieces were everywhere! Mater hung from the ceiling and dangled midair, still unconscious. After glancing around, I quickly realized that we were alone. The Hugos had left.

Praying with all my might that my partner was conscious, I whispered, "Finn?"

"Holley?" a voice immediately responded.

"Oh Finn!" I burst out, unable to ignore the leap in my chest when I heard Finn's voice again. "I...I thought you were dead. Thank goodness you're alright!"

Finn chuckled, obviously still having a sense of humor even in the face of death, and replied, "Not yet, but I may be soon. Holley, I owe you an apology. I should never have asked you to work as a field agent for me. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

"No, no, don't apologize," I quickly contradicted him. "It was worth it."

There was a long pause and I could imagine Finn cocking an eyebrow even though I couldn't see him as he asked, "Worth it?"

"Yes," I replied, wishing not for the first time that we could speak face to face. "If I hadn't agreed to be a field agent, I would never have ended up as your partner and I wouldn't have gotten the chance to get to know you. Really, Finn, you've given me all I hoped for in a partner."

There was another pause while Finn clearly thought about what I said. Finally, he cleared his throat and replied, "Why, I never realized you felt that way. You've been a wonderful partner to work with, Miss Shiftwell. I only wish it didn't have to end this way..."

"I wish the same," I admitted.

A long silence fell between the two of us. We were very close to death, and yet, I couldn't tell him. It was silly really. I had faced Ivan the tow truck, had endured torture from the Hugos, and was now facing death, yet I couldn't bear to tell Finn McMissile that I loved him.

Taking a deep breath, I start out all in a rush, "Finn, I...I..."

Before I could finish my sentence, there was a loud clunk. Looking up, I saw the chain that Mater was dangling from drop a good ten feet. He jerked awake, looked around with wide eyes, and noticed Finn and me.

"Holley! Finn! Where are we?" Mater called out in alarm.

"We're in London, Mater. Inside Big Bentley," Finn replied in a rather resigned voice. I had never heard Finn like this before. It was as if he had given up and had resigned himself to the fate that was slowly approaching us.

Suddenly, Mater's chain dove another ten feet lower towards the loud, whirring machinery. Finn and I continued to tick around the clock. Glancing to our right, I realized that we were very close to being crushed. It wouldn't be long now...

"This... this is all my fault," Mater groaned loudly.

"Don't be a fool, Mater," Finn replied firmly. If there was one thing I knew about Finn, it was that he hated injustice.

"But I am, remember? You said so," Mater pointed out.

I frowned and wished I could see Finn's face here. I would much rather die looking at him than at Mater. Finn replied almost indignantly, "When did I... Oh. Mater, I was complimenting you on what a good spy you are."

"I'm not a spy!" Mater yelled, his words echoing over and over again inside the clock. "I've been trying to tell you that the whole time. I really am just a tow truck."

There was a long silence in which Finn and I registered Mater's confession. Truth be told, I had noticed on several occasions just how out of place Mater had acted around us. Hoping Finn would not still think Mater was saying this because of his disguise, I pointed out, "Finn, he's not joking."

There was a pause before Finn said in that same resigned voice, "I know."

"You were right, Finn. I'm a fool. And what's happened to McQueen is 'cause I'm such a big one. This is all my fault," Mater groaned.

I was no longer listening on Mater. A lift had just risen to our level and none other than Grem and Acer rolled out onto the catwalk. If I had thought things couldn't get worse, I was dead wrong.

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	17. You're All I Need

**_Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reading. :)  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Aw, don't be sad! *hugs* Holley is okay for the most part now that she's with Finn. :)  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: No problem. Wow, that's so sad. :( I guess I understand why he had to be sold, but it hurts to loose an animal companion SO much. If you have pictures, you can email them to me if you want? ^^ I love horses!  
_**

**_MrsChick: Yeah, Holley went through a lot of crap in this chapter, poor thing. :( Finn should definitely be awake for their first kiss. Omg, I can never say the first I love you. I always let the other person say it because...I don't know, I'm a chicken or something. xD OMG, I have an Acer plush too! I also have a Lightning one, but why can't they make a Chick one? Geez, he's like a main character and stuff. =/ Do you have any Chick stuff at all? OMG, so we are really similar. From Cars 1, I like Lightning, Strip, Tex, Chick (duh), Darrell, Doc, and Lynda. From Cars 2, I like Francesco, Lightning, Professor Z, Alex, Finn, and Acer. ^^  
_**

**_12DEHD: That's nice! :) Lol, did you manage to get your chair back? I'm alright, just kind of pissed off because I got a bad review and I always take them too seriously. :P  
_**

**_Shellow: Yes, they do. And yeah, this is like a long story intro or something. I don't even know why I repeated the movie, but I really wanted to describe Holley's feelings when she first met Finn and all that. Thanks, btw, I love your comments. :)  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Yeah, Alex is cute, especially with that party hat. *squee* I keep loling about how you like Grem and I like Acer, but that's probably a good thing. xD Too bad Finn wasn't conscious when Holley kissed him, hehe.  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Hehe, I agree about Finn saying that! I'm so glad you're liking it and all the Holley/Finn moments! :D Omg, that project sounds so boring! History is one of my least favorite subjects. What about you?  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Thank you! I'm so glad you like the pacing because I'm having a hard time with that, lol. And yes, bad Hugos! They should go to hell, lol.  
_**

**_Pixie: Omg, I feel the same! They should have done way more with Tonks and Remus! Why did they have to cut it out so much? D: Ikr? Mater is interrupting as usual. -_- Hope you like the chapter!  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Me too, those Hugos need beating up! D: Omg, that happens to me whenever I take a test. It's like I panic and forget all I learned, you know?  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XVII  
**

_ ~ You're All I Need ~_

I watched as Grem and Acer glanced up in our direction. Acer's eyes went to Mater who was still dangling from the chain. Grem's eyes went directly to me. I felt like I was being inspected as his eyes traveled over me. Blinking and feeling a bit ashamed, I glanced away from him and stared at the ground. I didn't know if they had come to harm us or just to gloat as they watched us being crushed by the whirring machinery.

"Good, you're up!" Grem finally said, looking up at Mater.

"And just in time!" Acer added gleefully.

"Professor Z wanted you to have a front row seat for the death of Lightning McQueen," Grem explained, pushing an object forwards. It was covered up with a sheet for obvious reasons, but I knew very well what it was. My eyes narrowed; these two were just plain sadistic. Killing Lightning in front of Mater would be like killing Finn in front of me! My blood ran cold at that thought.

"He's still alive?" Mater asked the duo with hopeful eyes.

"Not for much longer," Acer replied, whipping the sheet away to reveal the WGP camera just as I had suspected. Acer then pushed the camera through a window and started directing it in Lightning's direction. Mater's chain dropped down again while Finn and I ticked to our right once more.

"Here he comes," Grem announced, turning the power level on the camera up to the highest intensity. All three of us watched as...nothing happened. Grem looked at the camera in horror as Lightning drove past Big Bentley, quite unharmed.

Suddenly, a loud voice squawked from the radio, "What happened?"

"I don't know, Professor," Grem replied, looking confused. Mater risked a smile, obviously glad that Lightning McQueen was unharmed at the moment.

"What did you do?" Acer asked Grem, giving him a dirty look.

"I didn't do nothin'. Shh! I'm talking to the Professor," Grem shushed Acer. There was a moment during which everyone started talking and it was impossible to hear what was being said. Not like I minded. I was very tired and had heard far too much about death threats over the last few days. Having just a few days of a break would be nice. Then again, I may be having an eternal rest very soon.

"You broke it!" Acer continued accusing Grem.

"Quiet!" Grem yelled in irritation to Acer before talking into the radio and saying, "I understand, Sir. Yes."

Ever impatient, Acer asked, "What did he say?"

"We go to the backup plan," Grem replied menacingly.

From where he was still dangling from the chain and dropping closer to death at every moment, Mater repeated, "Backup plan?"

"We snuck a bomb into McQueen's pits!" Grem grinned.

"The next time he makes a stop, instead of saying 'ka-chow,' he's gonna go 'ka-boom'!" Acer finished before turning to Grem and guffawing loudly. Mater shuddered in horror while I tried to think of someway to escape. I didn't have much going for me...

"Don't feel bad, tow truck. You couldn't have saved him," Grem feigned sympathy.

"Oh wait," Acer broke in as the two started towards the lift. "You could have!"

The two started laughing loudly all over again. I mostly wished that they could be quiet for a few minutes. It was hard to concentrate on an escape plan when they continued with their crass jokes over and over again. Trying to think, I realized that I had no weapons except for my electroshockers, which weren't going to do much good at this point. I doubted I could hit Grem or Acer with them from this distance even if I tried.

"Dadgum lemons!" Mater glared at Grem and Acer. Suddenly, Mater's guns rotated forwards again, spinning in place even though they were empty. To my surprise, Mater's face lit up. He had obviously realized something that the rest of us were clueless to.

"What, you didn't think we'd take your bullets?" Grem asked, looking at Mater like he was quite stupid.

"That's right, you got nothin'!" Acer added as he and Grem drove into the lift. I noticed that Mater's expression didn't change. I prayed he had a plan because I certainly didn't. For some reason, my mind kept spinning and making it very hard to concentrate on anything.

"Who's the lemon now, huh?" Grem added before the lift descended and the two disappeared from view.

"Nice try, Mater," Finn said, always the optimist even in the worse situations.

"Dadgum!" Mater yelled. We all watched as the barrels spun out again and whirred against the ropes tying Mater up. To my surprise, I realized that the barrels had done some damage. Excited, Mater continued on, "Dadgum! Dadgum! Dadgum!"

The ropes securing Mater to the chain suddenly broke loose and he was sent plummeting downwards...straight towards the whirring machinery! I watched in horror as Mater whipped his tow cable around and secured it to a pipe. We all held our breaths as Mater used the pipe to fling himself to safety onto the ramp.

"I gotta get you all out of there!" Mater exclaimed, looking up at Finn and me.

"There's no time. McQueen needs your help, Mater," Finn pressed, trying to go get Mater to help his friend.

There was a long pause during which Mater looked from us to the door. I had a feeling that our time of death was ticking closer and closer. Mater must've been thinking the same way since the next words out of his mouth were, "But I can't, I'm just a tow truck. Besides, what about you guys?"

"It's up to you. Go to the pits and get everyone out. You can do that," Finn said with a nod before adding in the same tone of voice, "We'll be okay."

Mater hesitated one more moment before turning and driving out of the clock like a bat out of hell. I watched him leave as I felt my heart sinking heavily. Our only chance of escape had just whizzed out of the door. Taking a steadying breath, I asked Finn, "So we'll be 'okay'? Really?"

"He wouldn't have left if I'd told him the truth," Finn admitted, his voice turning solemn before he laughed darkly and added, "Being killed by a clock. Gives a  
whole new meaning to 'your time has come'."

At Finn's words, I finally got an idea, exclaiming, "Time! That's it!"

Without delay, I sent my electroshockers towards the gearbox below. If I could reverse the time, we would rotate in the opposite direction and away from our imminent death. Unfortunately, my electroshockers mixed the mark by quite a bit.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked, looking quite puzzled.

"Trying to turn back time. If I can just reverse the polarity..." I pointed out, aiming my electroshockers a bit more carefully this time before sending them to the gearbox once more. This time, they met their mark. The clock stopped!

"Good job! Quick thinking, Holley!" Finn said in approval...just as the clock suddenly started spinning in the opposite direction at a much faster pace!

"Oh no!" I groaned, realizing that my plan had backfired and that we were seconds away from a crushing death.

"Drive!" Finn called as a gear descended towards us. We did our best to drive as fast as we could, separating our bumpers just enough to cause the gear to split the rope connecting us. Tires spinning, I launched myself forwards and landed hard on the platform below, gasping for breath. It took me a moment before I realized that I was safe. Well, safe for the moment anyways.

Finn came whirring around his side of the platform and over to mine. He started saying something like, "We need to get to..."

His voice trailed off and I realized for the first time that I was crying. It was embarrassing really. A good agent never shows her true feelings when on duty no matter what the circumstances are. Well, it was too late for that. Still though, I tried to turn away from Finn.

"Miss Shiftwell..." he started out in concern, driving in front of me and lowering his tone a few notches as he asked in a worried voice, "Are you alright?"

"I...I...yes. Now I am," I stammered, trying to make myself stop crying despite the fact that more tears threatened to come pouring down my face.

For the first time, Finn realized the look of horror on my face and the shock in my eyes, the way I was still trembling slightly, and the scratches on my sides. He reached out and touched one of the scratches with his tire tentatively, asking, "Bloody hell, they hurt you, didn't they?"

I nodded and closed my eyes, glad when Finn didn't ask for detail. I could feel his blue-green eyes on me as he murmured, "Oh Holley, if there's anything I can do-"

I don't know what seized me, but I suddenly found myself driving towards Finn. I tucked my head against his and cried hard. Finn wrapped his tires around mine and held me in a tight, reassuring hug. The tears finally stopped falling after a few minutes, but I didn't want to leave Finn. I stayed wrapped against him for another few minutes before realizing that even though Finn was ignoring it, we did have our duties to attend to.

When I finally felt ready, I drove backwards, took a deep breath and looked up into Finn's eyes. For the first time, they were completely unmasked. I saw something deep...something that looked a lot like passionate love for me in Finn's eyes. Then again, perhaps I was just imagining it.

"Holley, I cannot ask you to finish this mission," Finn said. "I want you to go somewhere where you're going to be safe."

Already having made up my mind about this earlier, I shook my head and replied, "No. I got myself into this field agent business and I'm going to finish this with you."

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	18. Kickstart My Heart

**_Sorry for the late update! I was working on something for class.  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Ikr? I don't think Holley and Mater work so well. OMG, you have no idea how much that made me laugh! Tell Finn to leave the cooking to Holley. xP  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Oh, I see. Yeah, probably no pictures then. :P There's a horse I ride sometimes...I don't own her or anything, but maybe I should take some pics of her sometime and send them to you if you like horses?  
_**

**_MrsChick: Yeah, Finn is such a gentle guy. ^^ I usually don't go for that type, but he's very sweet to Holley. Heh, I'm so glad to know I'm not the only chicken out there. xD Omg, I wanted a Professor Z and Francesco plushie, but they were out of stock. D: Which plushie is your favorite? :D Damn...how'd you get so much Chick stuff? O.o I want it all! xD I don't have a ton of Chick stuff, just two posters, he's on these sheets on got (lol), the normal diecast (I want the Dinoco one too), and this Chick water bottle. hehe I would love more Chick stuff though. :P  
_**

**_12DEHD: I do feel better, so it's all good. xD Oh, advanced placement? That does sound like it would be boring. What grade are you in again?  
_**

**_Shellow: Yep, they always make my day! LOL, so you don't like romantic movies? I'm actually a big horror fan. :P  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Lol, I thought the Hugos were frickin' adorable! I'm so weird. Yeah, good thing we like opposite guys so we don't have to fight over them! Haha, you know, I never thought about that line like that before, but now I have dirty things in my head too! xD  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Yay, you really liked it that much? That makes me so happy! ^^ Oh god, that sounds so boring. I would totally be going to sleep. What's your speech about?  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Yeah, Holley has no luck at all. D: I'm glad you liked the chapter! :D  
_**

**_Pixie: Same! I was totally looking forwards to those scenes too! It kind of makes me mad that they weren't included. -_- Aw, I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I guess Pixar just wasn't thinking or something, lol.  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: My day was alright. Just kind of stressful because I had to work on some things for a class I'm starting on Monday. How was your day? I'm glad you liked the chapter!  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XVIII  
**

_ ~ Kickstart My Heart ~_

There was a long moment during which Finn and I locked eyes and looked at each other. It was very true what I had said; I would indeed stick with Finn until the end of this no matter what happened. After our near death experience earlier, there was absolutely no way I would be leaving him alone anytime soon whether he liked that or not. Finn looked like he wanted to argue with me, but saw from the fiery look in my eyes what it would be quite pointless.

"Very well," Finn sighed. "I see there is no point in arguing with you. We've got to get to the course. Calculate the fastest way to-"

"Done," I interrupted as wings popped out from either of my sides. I had them just in case of emergency. Well, now was certainly an emergency!

"Miss Shiftwell," Finn said, looking quite impressed.

Feeling happier than I should over impressing Finn, I smiled and replied, "They're standard issue now." Truth be told, I had never had to use my wings before and I was hoping I remembered how to use them and wouldn't mess up on accident.

"You kids get all the good hardware," Finn started out before turning towards the lift. Suddenly, we both locked eyes on an air filter lying on the ground. Finn exchanged a look with me before pointing out solemnly, "I knew his escape was too easy."

"Yes," I sighed before remembering something from earlier. "Oh, Finn? The Hugos smashed my radio from earlier. If you have a spare, I would be very grateful. Otherwise, just tell me what you want me to do now before-"

Finn cut me off and slipped a small radio device behind my front tire, saying, "Already done, Holley."

We exchanged one more smile before Finn drove onto the lift and I used my wings to soar into the air. Thankfully, I had not forgotten how to use them and had no problem with steering or directing my flight. I flew out of the window in the clock and into the bright blue sky. My destination was to the WGP camera that was not really a camera at all, but indeed a weapon.

I found the weapon and Professor Zundapp, a wanted weapons maker, not much later. I flew up behind him and gave him my worst glare. Freaking out, the Professor spun around and literally fell out of the window. If I hadn't been concentrating so hard, I might have found it funny.

"Holley. I'll get Zundapp, you help Mater," Finn called to me from my radio.

Turning mid-air, I yelled back, "Got it!"

I zoomed directly over top of the racing track on my way to Mater. He was most likely somewhere in the streets, but where exactly was something I did not know. Zipping through the air, I turned another corner that led me over the streets of London. Directly below me was Mater! Calling out to him, I yelled, "Mater, stop!"

"No way! You could get hurt!" Mater protested as he sped right by.

Sighing, I thought to myself that the one thing that certainly did annoy me about Mater was his inability to listen! He was very stubborn and...oh no. Out of the corner of my eye, I found Grem and Acer driving towards Mater. Coming up with a plan, I plummeted down from the sky and skidded across the pavement before getting directly in the way of the two lemons. I used my wings to deflect them and send them flipping into the air and crashing into a bar.

Figuring that would probably take care of them for at least a little bit, I continued the chase after Mater. Finally, he pulled to a stop at the corner of the street. I descended to the ground next to him and Lightning McQueen, the racecar he was obviously friends with, and said hurriedly, "Mater, we've got to get that bomb  
off you."

"Bomb?" McQueen echoed.

"Yeah, they strapped it to me to kill you as a back-up plan," Mater replied a-matter-of-factly while I searched the bomb to see if there was any way for me to easily get it off. Unfortunately, I was not a bomb or weapons expert and would have to leave this up to Finn.

McQueen looked very nervous as he asked incredulously, "Back-up plan? Mater, who put a bomb on you?"

"Ahhhhh!" someone called out. We all turned to see Professor Zundapp stuck in grappling hooks as he rolled into the clearing, Finn right behind him. Turning murderous eyes to McQueen, he sneered, "You. Why didn't my death ray kill you?"

"Turn off the bomb, Zundapp!" Finn ordered. I couldn't help but feel impressed at just how well Finn had taken charge of the situation. Despite the current circumstances, I couldn't help but notice how the sunlight reflected off of his silver figure.

"Are you all so dense? It's voice-activated," Zundapp replied before rolling his eyes pompously, "Everything is voice-activated these days."

"Deactivate! Deactivate!" Mater called out.

"Voice denied," the bomb's computer voice replied. To our horror, the bomb attached to Mater transformed into a time bomb with a complete countdown mechanism that went from 4:59 to 4:58 and so on. Poor Mater gaped at the bomb in shock. I had to admit that I was impressed of just how calm he was staying despite the fact that he had a bomb attached to him. If it were me, I wouldn't find it possible to stay so calm.

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that it can only be disarmed by the one who activated it?" Zundapp added, a small smirk crossing his face.

"Say it!" I snapped, shoving a gun in his grill. I had had enough of this as had we all...

"Deactivate," Zundapp replied in a sing-song voice.

"Voice denied," the bomb's computer replied once more. The time dropped a whole minute, going from 4:37 to 3:37.

"I am not the one who activated it," Zundapp pointed out before grinning and adding, "Would anyone else like to try?"

Having had enough of all the taunting, I sent my electroshockers straight towards Zundapp. He fell unconscious almost immediately. I glanced sideways towards Finn, hoping that he wouldn't mind me using them this time.

Giving me a reassuring look, Finn replied, "You read my mind."

"He was getting on my nerves," I replied, eying Zundapp with disgust.

"What do we do?" McQueen asked, looking at Mater with concern in his eyes. Only now did I realize just how good of friends they were.

"It's quite simple," a voice said from behind us. Spinning around, our group glanced around to see that all four corners of the street were blocked off by lemons and their friends. Smirking, the lemon who had spoken, continued on, "You blow up."

"Holley?" Finn spoke through my radio. "Listen, you should get away from here."

"Finn, I already told you," I whispered back through the radio. "I'm not leaving you."

Mater, who was looking a bit sympathetic towards the lemons, was currently speaking, "Fellers, listen. I know what you're going through. Everybody's been laughing at me my whole life too. But becoming powerful and rich beyond your wildest dreams ain't gonna make you feel better."

There was a long pause before one of the lemons piped up, "Yeah, but it's worth a shot!"

Before I knew it, a fight had broken out all around us. Lemons fought against non-lemons, water was spraying everywhere (curtsy to a fire truck who had showed up nearby) and cars were being thrown into the air. I did my best to overturn a couple of lemons with my wings while keeping an eye on Finn. If something happened to him, I wanted to know immediately.

Somehow or another (to this day, I am honestly not quite sure how), we managed to battle off the lemons until the lemon leader called, "Retreat!"

To our surprise, the entire back street was blocked off by British military vehicles. I sighed with relief; at least the lemons would be taken care of. In the midst of the chaos, I tried to find Mater and Finn. My eyes found Finn first. Without delay, I drove to his side and glanced upwards to see Mater rocketing into the sky. Finn and I turned and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Where's he going?" Finn asked in confusion before starting his engine to go chase down Mater.

"Finn, wait," I stopped him for a moment. Finn turned and raised an eyebrow at me, obviously in a hurry. "Finn, if...if Mater can't deactivate the bomb, you aren't going to go up with him, are you?"

"I will do whatever I have to do," Finn sighed. "It is the job of an agent to do whatever we must do. Now Holley, for the third time, please do not follow me. I don't need us both blowing up if-"

"Wherever you go, I am coming too," I cut Finn off before driving forwards. "Come on! There's no time to loose."

Seeing that he couldn't change my mind once again, Finn gave up and sped along next to me as we followed the direction Mater had been traveling in. A few moments later, we found him and Lightning McQueen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Mater was bowing to the Queen, and in doing so, was showing off the bomb to her. I shook my head. What on earth was he doing this time?

"- Bomb!- It's a bomb!- Everybody down!- Look out!" the queen's guards shouted as everything dissolved into a frenzy.

"Hold your fire! He can't disarm it!" Finn called, rolling onto the platform between the Queen and Mater with me by his side. "Mater, I don't know what you're  
doing but stand down now!"

I glanced at the bomb and saw that we had less than two minutes to go. My heart pounded in my chest and I found myself moving closer to Finn. I had a feeling that Finn would not leave Mater even if the bomb couldn't be turned off. In that case, I would follow Finn's lead and do the same. I would not leave him until my heart stopped beating.

* * *

_Review? :)  
_


	19. Just Another Psycho

**_Happy weekend everyone! Thanks for reading! :D  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Aw, I'm glad you liked it! Oooh, yay for Finn coming back to life! I bet Holley was very happy! Don't let Finn cook though whatever you do. ;P  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Alright, cool! :D I'll take some pictures next Friday then. :)  
_**

**_MrsChick: Exactly. Like I wouldn't go for Finn myself, but he goes together perfectly with Holley especially after the Hugo mess from earlier. Oooh, cool! I want a Francesco now. :P Why did he have to be out of stock? D: OMG, I do that same thing. Whenever I find a Chick item at the store, I totally flip out and everyone in my family thinks I'm crazy. xD  
_**

**_12DEHD: Midterms? God, that sucks! Good luck to you. ^^ Do you find your classes easy or difficult?  
_**

**_Shellow: Hehe, it makes sense to me. :) We both make each other's days. xD Glad you liked the chapter! Hm, I haven't seen that horror film, but I want to. Any horror films that you do like? ^^  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Really? But the Pacers are so adorable! :D And so is Z whatever kind of car he is. You know, I always thought "Why the hell did Mater do that?" It was pretty stupid.  
_**

**_Rosethorn: LOL, that's a funny thing to write your speech about. xP Are you working on it this weekend? Yep, almost to the end of the movie and then you get stuck with my bad imagination for future chapters. :P  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Lol, I was listening to Motley Crue and that's where the title came from. I'm so random. ;P I'm glad you liked the chapter! :D  
_**

**_Pixie: OMG, I would love one of those! That would be so awesome! :D I'm very glad you liked the chapter. ^^ I love the way he says Miss Shiftwell there too! It's just...I don't know...I just like it. xD  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: How'd you do in math? :) And yay for shopping! Did you get anything cool? I want to go, but my mom says we can't because there's too much snow on the roads. -_-  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XIX  
**

_ ~ Just Another Psycho ~_

My eyes locked onto the bomb attached to Mater, realizing just how little time we had. The queen's guards were frowning as Mater told them that someone had been hurting the racecars. Lightning McQueen whispered to Mater something "like hurry it up" because Mater pointed a tire to someone on our right and said simply, "Okay. It's him."

Everyone in the crowd turned to see that Mater was pointing to none other than Sir Miles Axlerod. I glanced over Finn and realized that we had identical looks of confusion on our faces. We didn't know where Mater was going with this, but we certainly hoped that he knew what he was doing.

"What? Me? You've got to be crazy," Axlerod cut in, giving Mater a look like he was insane.

"I figured it out when I realized you all attached this ticking time bomb with Whitworth bolts. The same bolts that hold together that old British engine from the photograph. Holley! Show that picture," Mater said to me.

"O-kay..." I said, setting up my onboard keyboard and launching the photograph of the engine. I had no idea where Mater was going with this, but I hoped he was on the right track for his sake and Finn's.

"And then I remembered what they say about old British engines - 'If there ain't no oil under 'em, there ain't no oil in 'em'," Mater stated before going on and accusing Sir Axlerod, "It was you leaking oil at the party in Japan. You just blamed it on me."

"Electric cars don't use oil, you twit," Axlerod pointed out, looking quite frustrated and causing me to have a little more faith in Mater.

"Then you're faking it. You didn't convert to no electric. We pop that hood we gonna see that engine from that picture right there," Mater said, moving towards Sir Axlerod to pop his hood. I glanced at the clock on the bomb. We had less than a minute and this wasn't going very fast.

"This lorry's crazy. He's going to kill us all!" Sir Axlerod frowned, backing up towards the edge of the stage and giving Mater a dirty look, "Stay away!"

Trying to throw my own logic into this, I piped up in a quiet voice, "But Sir Axlerod created the race, Mater. Why would he want to hurt anyone?"

I highly doubted Mater to have an explanation for this, so when he responded, I was quite shocked. Still driving towards Axlerod, Mater explained, "To make Allinol look bad so everybody'd go back to using oil. I mean, he said it himself with that disguised voice."

Everyone started talking at once while Axlerod protested loudly, the Queen and her guards broke into conversation, and I looked back at the time bomb. There was no way to stop it from going off and we had about thirty seconds now...

"Mater, he created Allinol," Finn pointed out from next to me, clearly as confused about where Mater was getting this from as myself.

Once again, Mater had an explanation for all this as he drove up to Axlerod, cornering him between his time-bomb ticking nose and the edge of the platform as he said, "Yeah, but what if he found that huge oil field just as the world was trying to find something else? What if he came up with Allinol just to make alternative fuel look bad?"

"What if? You're basing this on a 'what if'?" Sir Axlerod asked, a note of hysteria in his voice.

"Okay, that's it," the queen's guard said, obviously having had enough as they quickly spirited the queen and the prince out of the area. The only ones that remained were Sir Axlerod, Lightning McQueen, Finn, myself, and of course Mater.

"Wait! Somebody save me! The lorry's crazy!" Axlerod called as nobody made any attempt to rescue him. "Stay away, you idiot!"

The time bomb had eight seconds left. I flinched into Finn's side and closed my eyes as Finn called in a warning voice, "Mater!"

"Someone do something!" Sir Axlerod begged. Nothing happened. The bomb continued ticking 0:03...0:02...0:01. Suddenly, Axlerod hissed, "You're insane, you are! Deactivate!"

When there was a moment of silence, I dared to glance upwards to find that Mater had been right. The computer voice on the bomb immediately responded, "Bomb deactivated. Have a nice day, Sir Axlerod."

There was a long moment of shock from everyone. Police started surrounding Sir Axlerod while Mater drove forwards and popped his hood up.

"The engine from the photo," Finn said with a nod, giving Mater an impressed look.

"It's a perfect match!" I chimed in, relief flooding throughout me. I had come very close to death twice today, and yet, here I was still alive with Finn by my side. I felt tears of happiness come to my eyes as I looked from Finn to Mater. Everyone talked amongst themselves for a few moments until one of the queen's guards drove back into the center of our group and cleared his throat loudly.

"Ahem. The Queen has issued a meeting with you in Buckingham Palace at seven pm tonight. She expects to see you all there," the guard said firmly before turning and driving back in the direction of the palace.

Mater and Lightning McQueen started chattering excitedly like good friends do while Finn drove over to them. Glancing at my onboard computer, I realized that it was only five pm and that I had two hours before the meeting at the palace. Seeing that everyone was busy, I silently slipped away from the group and drove away.

The streets were quite empty after the bomb from earlier. It was more than easy to drive through the streets without looking where I was going and without worrying about traffic or enemy cars lurking in the alleyways. I didn't know exactly where I was going. I just let my tires do all the work until they brought me to a stop in front of a flower garden at the edge of town.

For some reason, the flowers reminded me of Rachel. I would have to call her and tell her about everything that had just happened. I doubted she would believe me at first, but maybe she would after I told her the whole story and when...ow!

A sudden pain came from my right side. Wondering what the source of the pain was, I glanced to my right and found a rather large dent there. Bloody hell, I would have to get that dent repaired immediately. Americans may consider dents valuable, but I found it to be nothing more than an embarrassment.

I drove alongside the flower garden and found that my whole frame ached as well, no doubt caused from the Hugos earlier. I had tried to push those memories to the very back of my mind, but they had somehow managed to drift to the front of it all over again.

A single water droplet fell from my eye and rolled down my cheek until it fell to the ground with a plop. Only now was I realizing that my innocence was gone and that I would likely hold a fear of most males for my entire life. Well...everyone save for Finn.

Despite everything that had happened, I still trusted Finn McMissile with my life. As a-matter-of-fact, this whole ordeal had just proved to me how much I really did love him. I knew now that I would never want another partner. Finn and I were meant to work together.

"Miss Shiftwell, are you crying?" a voice came from behind me.

Jumping in surprise, I turned around to see that Finn had driven up behind me. He was giving me a concerned look. Trying to stop the tears once more, I shook my head and replied, "No. No, I'm not. At least, not anymore."

"Here," Finn said, reaching behind a tire and handing me a tissue. "Take this."

Blinking, I took the tissue and dabbed at my eyes before tossing Finn a half-smile and saying, "I never thought you were the type to carry tissues around."

"You'd be surprised of just all the things I carry around," Finn smiled back with a wink in my direction before his facial expression grew somber and he asked, "Are you alright, Holley? Don't just say yes because that's what you think I want to hear."

I took a deep breath and thought about Finn's words. Finally, I answered truthfully after a moment, "In time, I will be fine. I need to get this dent filled up and the scratches repainted."

"Good god, I didn't notice that dent earlier," Finn said, flinching as he looked over my side.

I nodded and said, "Yes, I don't notice it until recently either."

"Holley," Finn started out, clearing his throat and adding after a hesitation, "If you ever want to talk about what happened, I can be a listener or perhaps comfort you if you would like that. I don't mean to pry. If you don't want to tell me anything, I understand completely."

There was a long pause during which I thought about what Finn had said. Part of me wanted to tell him what had happened and part of me didn't. There was a long pause during which I tried to think of what to say. Finally, I burst out in a rush, "Oh Finn, it was awful! The group of Hugos flipped me over onto my back while another one got on top of me and...and..."

I glanced up and met Finn's eyes. I could tell from his expression that he knew exactly what I was unable to say. Finn closed his eyes for a moment before sighing and saying, "This is all my fault. If only I hadn't brought you on this mission after all."

"No. Finn, it wasn't your fault," I pressed, wanting to make sure he realized that. "It would have happened sooner or later most likely. Besides, I was the one who chose to go on this mission to work with you. As I said before, I don't regret my decision even for a moment."

"Sometimes I wish you weren't so attractive," Finn said, giving me a sort of half-smile that made my stomach flip for some reason.

Raising my eyebrows at Finn, I forgot all about the Hugos for a moment and asked, "You find me attractive?"

"I'm certain any male would say you are extremely beautiful," Finn replied, inadvertently avoiding a direct answer to my question. He was silent for a moment before he asked, "I assume you don't wish to go to the palace later today, do you?"

"Not particularly," I admitted. If there was anything I needed, it was definitely rest. Lots and lots of rest.

"You mustn't go then," Finn said. "I can drive you to a hotel and help you book a room if you'd like. I know you will want to get back to Tokyo soon, but-"

"Finn," I interrupted, giving him a firm look. "I'm going to the palace with you tonight. I want to go. Really."

Finn sighed before replying, "Very well. After that, I insist you get some rest, Miss Shiftwell."

"Holley," I replied, glancing up at him. "It's Holley to you now."

"I've noticed you don't let Mater call you Holley," Finn said with a sparkle in his eye.

"I don't," I admitted before fixing him directly with my green eyes and replying, "Only you."

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_Review? :)  
_


	20. This Ain't a Love Song

**_Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the support everyone. :)  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Lol, did they ask what you were doing? Hehe, yes, he should have kissed her! xD  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: That would be great! I'll cross my fingers for you. :) Any idea what you would name the pony? :)  
_**

**_Libby: Thank you so much! :D I really appreciate your comment! Have you been a Folley fan for a while?  
_**

**_12DEHD: School just sucks in general, I think. xP I actually hate science a lot. Chemistry is just beyond me. What do you learn in science? I think English would be my best subject too.  
_**

**_Shellow: I know! I don't like any guys irl. How about you? Oooh, I like those movies! :D I think my favorite for horror is I Spit on Your Grave. Have you seen that?  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Lol, what do you think Finn is carrying around with him? xD I still like the Hugos. ;P ** Francesco is still your favorite then?  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Aw, you're nice! I don't think my imagination is so good, but anyways. xP How's that speech coming along then? Well, I don't start school until tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous though, so please wish me luck!  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: OMG! :D That thought was so funny. I can so see Finn carrying condoms around. xD Lol, we have dirty minds, don't we? Glad you liked the chapter!  
_**

**_Pixie: Hehe, what were you thinking that Finn was carrying around? Omg, so your dad doesn't know you like Cars? I did that once in the store. I was all "LIGHTNING PLUSH!" and everyone stared at me like I was a little crazy. So embarrassing, you know? :P  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: That's great! :D You're worrying about college already? My parents keep trying to get me to think about it. x_x Oooh, jewelry is awesome! I have so many earrings, hehe. What's your favorite kind of jewelry then?  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XX  
**

_ ~ This Ain't a Love Song ~_

Time passed by very quickly and before I knew it, it was just a few minutes before seven. Exchanging a look with Finn, I turned away from the garden and towards the direction of Buckingham Palace. I didn't really want to go, but it would be rude not to go in my opinion. Driving forwards, I glanced at Finn and said, "I suppose we should go. It would be rude if we were late."

"Alright," Finn agreed before driving next to me quite a bit closer than normal. Of course this was something I immediately noticed.

The two of us were silent as we drove in the direction of the palace. I figured we were both wrapped up in our own thoughts. My mind was focused on just how many other cars were going to be inside the palace. As much as I hated to admit it, crowds made me very nervous.

"Holley?" Finn asked abruptly, breaking our silence and causing me to jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"

"Oh no, it's fine," I replied immediately before glancing over at Finn, "Were you going to ask me something?"

We were almost to the palace now. My heart was fluttering in my chest nervously while Finn answered, "Actually, yes. I hate to pry, but do you have a fear of crowds? I've noticed you dislike any large meetings of any sort. Even a group of three seemed to be one car too many."

"Oh that," I said, feeling a blush cross my cheeks as I realized Finn was seeing through me all over again. "I don't like large groups, no."

"Well, you needn't worry," Finn replied firmly as we reached the wide doors that led to the entrance of the palace. "I'll be there with you the entire time. Besides, all of those Hugos and Pacers have been taken to prison. You won't have to worry about them anymore."

"I know," I replied before adding, "Sometimes I think I'm claustrophobic, that's all."

"Claustrophobic, eh?" Finn asked, driving a bit closer to me and raising an eyebrow as he admitted, "For being claustrophobic, you don't seem to be too alarmed by how closely I'm driving to you. Unless, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Oh no, you're fine," I replied a bit too quickly, causing Finn to arch an eyebrow at me and send me a curious smile. Trying not to give too much away, I quickly added, "What I mean is that you make me feel safe. You're different."

"Different?" Finn echoed still with that curious look on his face. "In what way am I different, Miss Holley?"

Before I could reply, the two of us found ourselves inside the entrance of Buckingham Palace. I inhaled quickly as I realized just how many cars were here. Doing my best to stay calm, I reminded myself that Finn was here with me and that I had already overcome most of my fears today. This was petty compared to what I had been through. Then again, I found I had a strange feeling. It was as if someone was watching me again.

"Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell!" a voice greeted us, immediately jerking me out of my thoughts and making me realize that of course it felt like someone was watching me because indeed someone was.

Glancing up, I found a fancy Porsche smiling at us with a friendly look on her face. I offered a tentative smile back while Finn greeted her, "Hello there."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" the Porsche continued on as she started leading us to the front of the rows of seats. "The Queen is delighted to have you here. She saved you a spot in the front to your left there."

"Thank you," Finn said to the smiling Porsche. I gulped as she drove away. I didn't exactly appreciate sitting in the front row like this. Wasn't the ceremony suppose to be about Mater? If so, I saw no reason for me to have to sit in the front like this!

As Finn and I took our seats, I scanned the crowd, again feeling like someone was watching me. I had that same weird feeling that I had during the first part of our mission when I had been convinced someone was watching me in the hotel.

"Holley? Are you alright?" Finn asked as I felt myself start feeling dizzy.

"Yes, I'm fine," I nodded weakly before adding as if it were an afterthought, "I think."

"Is it the crowd bothering you?" Finn asked in concern, reaching over and placing a tire on top of mine in concern. "As soon as the ceremony starts, all eyes will be on Mater. It should be starting any minute now..."

I didn't want Finn to think I was being foolish, but I had to tell someone about this strange feeling I was having. Leaning closer to him, I whispered to Finn, "Do you remember when we first started this mission and I felt like someone was watching me?"

"Yes, of course I remember," Finn nodded in concern, watching me carefully. "Why?"

"I have that feeling again," I said, almost feeling fidgety at this point. The feeling was getting worse as if whoever was watching me was getting closer and closer. "I know it's petty, but it's getting worse by the minute, Finn. Do you think someone could be watching me?"

Finn was frowning at this point. He glanced around quickly and murmured, "I cannot say for certain. I suppose there could be someone watching you, but I can assure you that they're no danger to you here. You're probably in the safest place in all of England right now."

Realizing that Finn was quite right, I did my best to relax and took a deep breath. Suddenly, the crowd grew silent and the doors to the palace opened dramatically as Lightning McQueen and Mater drove in side-by-side. Meanwhile, the Queen drove in at the opposite end of the room. The feeling of being watched lessened slightly as I felt myself and everyone else turn to look at Mater.

"Your Majesty. May I present for the investiture of honorary Knighthood of the British Realm. Tow Mater of Radiator Springs," Lord Stewart announced as Mater drove down the isle with big eyes. Lightning McQueen gave him a wink before he went to go sit by his own friends.

Now on his own, Mater slowed his pace as he approached the queen and swept her a bow. Surprisingly enough, it was rather graceful. The Queen gave Mater a smile and pronounced in a clear voice, "I hereby dub thee 'Sir Tow Mater'."

Applause rang out in the room and I had to admit that even I was proud of Mater. He had come a very long way since when I had first met him. I also had to give him so credit in accomplishing our mission. If it weren't for him, Finn and I would never have found out what Sir Axlerod was really up to.

"'Sir?' Shoot, you can just call me Mater, Your Majesty. I don't wanna hear none of this 'Sir' business. By the way, have y'all met each other? Queen? McQueen. McQueen, Queen. McQueen? McMissile," Mater said, waving his tire in Lightning McQueen's direction and then waving a tire at Finn.

I watched as Lightning McQueen and some of Mater's other friends joined him in front of the Queen. Feeling like this might be the perfect time to escape, I glanced over at Finn and found he was already looking at me as if he had been anticipating what I had been thinking.

Without anything said, the two of us slipped past the crowd. Everyone seemed to be immersed in conversations with their friends or neighbors, so it was no problem to sneak by without anyone stopping us. Once we were outside, we drove a little ways past the palace and to an empty road. Quite a few cars will still staying away due to the bomb from earlier.

"Well, that wasn't _so_ hard now, was it?" Finn asked me, giving me a confident look as we turned to face each other.

"I suppose," I replied hesitantly. That feeling that someone was watching me was still gnawing at the back of my mind.

"Here, take this," Finn said, reaching forwards and handing me a room key. "See that hotel across the street there? The one with the red doors? I booked you room number twenty-five. I think it's on the first level. Will that be alright?"

Shocked by Finn's sweetness and wondering how he had gotten a room so quickly, I replied, "That will be lovely, thank you. How did you get a room so quickly?"

Finn winked and said, "I have a few secret methods. Is there anything else you need, Holley? It's been such a long day."

"I know," I sighed heavily, feeling all the parts in my body ache. Suddenly, I thought of something and gave Finn a look out of the corner of my eye before asking, "What about you though? Where are you staying tonight?"

"Actually not," Finn replied simply. "I'm staying with a friend."

My stomach sank and I automatically wondered if this friend was female. Feeling a bit like something was off, I asked, "Who is this friend?"

"His name is Patrick. I've known him since I was young. It will be nice to catch up and have a cup of tea with him," Finn replied before starting his engine and saying, "Goodnight. If there is any trouble at all, you know you can contact me with your radio. I'm not turning mine off."

"Great," I replied. "Thank you, Finn."

Finn nodded before turning and driving off in the opposite direction. I sighed and watched him leave. The sky was very dark now and I could see a few stars shining up ahead. I supposed there was no need to be jealous since Finn was not visiting a girlfriend, but I still felt very alone without him.

Taking a deep breath, I turned and drove up to the hotel. Once I slipped inside the lobby, I found it to be a very luxurious hotel. My eyes widened as I stared around the room. Finn had done well for me. Very happy that I didn't have to go through the mess of trying to get my hotel key from the car behind the desk since there was a line of ten cars waiting there, I went straight into the halls and started searching for my room number.

After about ten minutes or so, I finally found the room I was looking for. Without hesitation, I slipped my key in the lock and watched the door swing open silently. I immediately drove inside and went straight to the bedroom. The bed was very nice and looked extremely comfortable.

Before driving into it, I decided to go into the bathroom and wash. I felt extremely dirty after earlier and needed to get the dirt and grime off of me. As if in a daze, I drove into the bathroom and found it to be perfectly spotless except for one thing. There was one towel lying in the center of the floor. It looked as if it had been thrown there. Of course it hadn't been thrown though. I was the only one in here, right?

The strange feeling that I was being watched suddenly came flying back into my head. I glanced around hastily, but didn't have the nerve to look behind the shower curtain to see if someone was there or not. Regardless, I was panicking and couldn't stay in the bathroom anymore.

Taking a deep breath, I rolled into the kitchen and tried to tell myself to stop being so paranoid. Nobody was here except for me. I was just fine. Feeling thirsty, I went to the refrigerator and used a tire to prop it open. Glancing inside, I found a champagne bottle with a note attached to it.

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_Review? :)  
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	21. Home Sweet Home

**_Hello everyone! So I start my classes today and so I may not be updating quite as much. Maybe every other day? Thank you all for reading!  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Omg, that's funny! did they believe you about the cat picture? xD Thanks for reading!_**

**_ALL OUT TOMBOY: Thanks, I'm glad you like the story! Don't worry, I'm sure they'll eventually spend the night together. ;)  
_**

**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: So do I! Omg, my cat is named Daisy. That's how creative I am. LOL  
_**

**_MrsChick: You're totally right; Finn is always there for Holley. :) Hehe, that first kiss might be coming soon. I love romance. Sometimes I have problems not just going and writing a romance scene right away. :P OMG! I am so going to Target now even though I don't travel. xP That luggage tag sounds awesome!  
_**

**_12DEHD: Ugh, that does sound boring! Yeah, I'm not taking English this semester. I hate math as well! I start this stupid math class today and I have a feeling it's going to go really badly. -_- Do you get a lot of hw?  
_**

**_Shellow: Lol, I confuse myself all the time too. :P I won't tell you who it is, but Finn's not the one stalking her. That's funny about all the guys texting you. I don't see anything in guys. Girls are more loyal at this age. Yeah, you should see it! I think it's x-rated though, so yeah, don't watch it if you don't like that kind of thing. xP  
_**

**_iBrizzy: OMG, that would make a cool threesome! I'd do one with Lightning and Chick. xD ...Or Acer and Professor Z. Ugh, now I'm going to have dirty thoughts all day. xD Thanks for the review. ^^  
_**

**_Rosethorn: Hehe, I love cliffhangers! I'm glad to hear that about your speech! It's due tomorrow, right? Thank you so much! I'm really quite nervous for it. :S  
_**

**_HalfBrachenDemon: Yep, someone creepy is stalking her. x_x Hm...you'll figure out what kind of note it is in this chappie. xD Glad you liked the last one!  
_**

**_Pixie: Lol, that's what I was thinking too. xD We both have dirty minds, I see. :P Oh, so your dad hasn't seen Cars 2 then? And yep, Holley has a stalker. :S  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Oh, I see! You're in 12th grade then? That's great about your grades. You should get into a college with no problem then! Thanks for reading. :)  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XXI  
**

_ ~ Home Sweet Home ~_

My heart started hammering in my chest. It was far too coincidental to find a bottle of champagne in my hotel room once more. Perhaps I hadn't been so crazy after all when I thought someone had been watching me. Perhaps someone really was here. I listened to see if I could hear any noise in my hotel room, but everything was eerily quiet. Frowning, I looked back at the champagne bottle and at the note.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to risk opening the note. I picked it up with a tire and glanced over the writing. It had been written in scrawling, child-like penmanship. I quickly forgot about the handwriting as I actually read the note. It said nothing other than: _I know you're here._

My heart suddenly leaped into my throat and I couldn't breathe. I had been right after all. Someone had indeed been following me. There had been silence before, but now I could hear the squeak of floorboards from the bathroom.

Without another thought, I drove straight towards the hotel room door and found that it was locked. My suspicion grew even higher as I yanked my hotel room key out from behind my tire and unlocked the door as quickly as possible. There was no doubt in my mind that someone really was in this room with me at this very moment. Another loud squeak sounded as I drove out of the doorway, letting the door slam shut behind me.

I drove straight down the hallway and to the hotel lobby. The only other car there was the car at the desk. Bloody hell, she was sleeping! Knowing that I wasn't safe here, I drove out of the doorway and started out into the streets. I hated being out in the streets at night, but I didn't really have a choice about it. Either I drove about the dark alleys or I stayed in the hotel room with my stalker.

Once I had driven out of the vicinity, I paused and turned on my radio, whispering, "Finn? Finn, I need to talk to you."

I expected there to be a long silence, but Finn responded almost immediately, "Holley? Is that you? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," I replied, no hesitation in my voice anymore. "Remember how I told you about the champagne bottles I found in my hotel room that first night when we started our mission together? That was the night I ended up sharing a room with you."

"I remember," Finn replied, voice laced with concern as he added, "What's going on, Holley? What is this about?"

"The same thing happened again," I admitted in a scared voice. "I found a champagne bottle in my refrigerator and I kept hearing strange noises from the bathroom. When I went back to open the hotel room door and get out, I found that the door had been locked. I am certain I didn't lock that door."

Even though I couldn't actually see Finn, I could imagine that concerned look on his face as he listened to what I was telling him. He immediately responded, "It appears someone really is trying to follow you. Where are you right now?"

"I'm not in the hotel room anymore," I quickly replied before I turned on my onboard computer and used it to analyze my current position. "I'm on Chestnut Boulevard apparently. It's very dark down here. Nobody is out driving except for me."

"I'm coming for you right now," Finn said. "I'm going to stop talking to you so I can focus on getting there faster. Will you be alright in the meantime?"

"Yes, of course," I nodded. "Nothing is really wrong. I just..."

Finn cut into my sentence and said, "Believe me, Holley, something is wrong this time. Just stay where you are. I'll be there shortly.

I heard Finn turned his radio off with a crackle and glanced around furtively. I was frightened and definitely wasn't going to deny it this time. Even though I was away from the hotel room, this alleyway felt unsafe. I didn't feel like anyone was watching me anymore, but the note was bothering me.

Unable to stay still, I drove around in circles and tried to think of who might possibly be following me. Unfortunately, my mind was too fuzzy from panic for me to think straight. I hoped Finn would get here soon. I wasn't certain how much longer I could stay here.

Suddenly, without any warning at all, I got that strange suspicion that someone was watching me once more. My stomach flipped over and my breath turned into ragged gasps. Whoever it was, he was here and watching me right now.

As I glanced around anxiously, I found that it was too dark to see anything at all. Damn. Oh Finn, why couldn't you hurry up? I was tempted to talk to him through my radio again, but that would just alert the stalker of my whereabouts.

Realizing that I was in danger, I figured that I needed to get out of here. Now. Without wasting anymore time, I quietly started my engine and started driving down the street and into another alley. The feeling of being watched faded slightly, but I still felt terrible. Everything was turning into such a bad dream.

Suddenly, Finn's voice spoke from my radio again, "Holley? Where are you? I searched down all of Chestnut Boulevard and can't find you anywhere."

Finn's voice seemed so loud in the empty street. Squeak! The sound of wheels on the pavement sounded from my right. Afraid of who I might see there, I whirled around and gasped...only to find myself face-to-face with Finn.

"Oh! It's you," I sighed with relief. "Finn, I think we should get out of here. I feel like whoever was following me is here."

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine," Finn said, giving me a reassuring smile before motioning for me to drive by his side and out of the alley. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," I replied tentatively. "Nobody actually hurt me. I'm just certain that someone is following me now. They even left me a note on the champagne bottle this time. I don't understand why they're trying to follow me around or why-"

"Not here," Finn said, cutting off my sentence and looking around warily before he added in a lower tone of voice, "We'll talk about it in a minute once we're alone. One thing London has taught me is that you can never be too careful."

Figuring that Finn was right, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down as I drove by his side in silence. Thankfully, the feeling that someone was watching me did not return and Finn and I drove without any delays to a small, cozy-looking hotel at the edge of town.

"I know it's not much," Finn said as we drove through the doorway. "But I know the owner of this hotel. We'll be safe here tonight."

"We will?" I echoed, noticing that Finn had said we instead of me. Was he planning on staying with me tonight?

"Yes. I don't want to take any more chances. You need to stay safe and with me by your side, I can guarantee that," Finn said before driving up to the car at the desk and saying, "Hello, Nicolas. How are you?"

Nicolas immediately glanced up and smiled at Finn, saying, "Finn! It's been so long! I didn't know you were in London. What brings you here?"

"We were on a mission, but it's been completed," Finn replied with a smile. "Now, my partner and I just need a place to spend the night. Could we have one room key please? It would be preferable if it was on the second floor as well if you don't mind."

"Not at all, not at all," Nicolas said, handing Finn a key and adding, "We're just about to lock up for the night. You should be perfectly safe here tonight."

Finn took the key and thanked Nicolas before leading me to the elevator. We both slipped inside and waited for the door to close. Once it was shut, I turned to Finn and asked curiously, "How did you come to know Nicolas?"

"Nicolas is a friend of the family," Finn explained with a smile. "My parents were friends with his parents and so Nicolas and I grew up together. He's a very good car to know if you ever need anything. He never hesitates to lend a hand."

The two of us came to a stop on the second floor of the hotel and started searching for our room. Actually, I let Finn do all the searching since I didn't even know where our room was. It only took a moment before he unlocked a door and said, "Here we are."

I drove into the room and looked around curiously. There was a living room area and a bathroom. That was all. Honestly, I didn't mind what the room looked like though. I was just thankful to be away from that other awful place and grateful to be with Finn again.

There was a large burgundy couch in the middle of the room that instantly caught my attention. I drove over to it and sighed sleepily. Part of me wanted to sleep, but I already knew that Finn would not want to sleep. I knew him well enough by now to know that he was going to want to try and figure out who was stalking me right this minute. Finn didn't seem to need sleep. He always had enough energy for another mission.

Getting up onto the couch next to me, Finn gave me a kind smile and murmured, "Peace and quiet at last! I know you would probably like to sleep, but I need to know a few things first. You said there was a note on the champagne bottle. Do you have that note?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "I dropped it and then drove out of that hotel room as fast as possible."

"Hm," Finn said, looking a bit disappointed. I realized too late that perhaps I should have kept the note. Finn continued on before I could apologize and added, "Do you remember what the note said? Or perhaps you can describe the handwriting style?"

"The note said 'I know you're here'," I replied, trying not to shudder. "The writing looked like it had been written by a child."

"I see," Finn replied before his brow narrowed and he continued on, "Is there anyway for you to do a cross analysis and see what cars were present at the Grand Prix Party in Tokyo and what cars were present at Buckingham Palace this evening?"

"Yes, I can do that that," I nodded, immediately bringing up my onboard computer as I added, "It's strange. I don't know who would be doing this. Grem and Acer are dead while Sir Axlerod and Professor Zundapp were both taken to prison."

"It could be literally anyone, Holley," Finn admitted. "It could be someone who doesn't even know of the lemon's plot. It could just be a random admirer."

"I don't want an admirer," I pointed out before looking at my computer screen and groaning, "Goodness, there were over three hundreds matches."

Finn sighed and said, "Well, that isn't going to do us much good. I'm going to do some research of my own. You should sleep now, Holley. You've had such a long day. I'm sorry for all of this. If I had known this mission was going to cause you so much trouble, I-"

"Finn, it's alright," I broke in, giving him a small smile. "It's not your fault. I'm just so glad you're here. I think I will sleep now, but Finn? Don't stay up all night."

"Right," Finn said, giving me a look that meant he was going to stay up all night anyways.

Resisting rolling my eyes, I said, "Goodnight, Finn."

"Goodnight, Holley."

* * *

_Review? :) ...And I started another fic called "Dark Dealings", so if you could go read that too, I would love it! Sorry, I'm such a self-promoter. ;P  
_


	22. The Dark Side of Love

**_Sorry for not updating yesterday! I've been busy with class. =/ Thank you so much for reading everyone! :)  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Haha, my parents never believe me. xP Don't worry, there will be kissing and romance soon. xD  
_**

**_ALL OUT TOMBOY: Hehe, yeah! I hope you like this chapter. :)  
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**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Thanks! My other pet names are really ordinary like Maddie, Peaches, Nikki, etc. I like the name Spirit a lot! :D  
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**_MrsChick: Thank you! I tried to make it suspenseful, but thought it was a fail. :P Omg, I hate those stories that just fly right into sex and stuff. Romance doesn't work that way. You need to build into it, you know? Oh god, I am dying for one of those luggage tags! I was going to go to Target, but there was too much snow on the road and mom said she wouldn't bring me there...so I'm gonna go this weekend. xD  
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**_12DEHD: That's nice that you had a day off of school! What did you do with your free time? :) Good luck with midterms! Your math teacher should be fired, you know? I mean, she's suppose to teach stuff, not just throw hw at you.  
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**_Shellow: Yeah, Finn's car type is awesome! I like Holley too, whatever kind of car she is. xD Guys are hopeless! I don't like guys, they're just...ugh. Cartoon guys are just fine though, LOL. Okay, if you're sure then. xP Have you ever seen any disturbing movies? ...I get so off topic, I know. xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Lol, I should create a random one-shot about a car threesome. I'm so weird. xD Any guesses on the mystery car?  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: Lol, am I making you paranoid? Sorry! xD Any idea who is stalking Holley?  
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**_Pixie: Omg, you are so right! We are totally twins. :D I definitely think your dad would like the movie then! :D I know what you're thinking, hehe. Well, this chapter might be a bit of a surprise...  
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**_HourofTwilight: Oh, do you live in England? :) Ugh, I hate exams. Good luck with all of them! School's going meh for me. There's a lot of work and stress, you know? Thanks for reading. :)  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XXII  
**

_ ~ The Dark Side of Love ~_

I woke up the next morning with heavy eyelids. A wave of exhaustion flooded through my veins, but I knew I was going to have to wake up. There were many things I had to do such as call Rachel (there was no doubt in my mind that she would be extremely worried after not hearing from me for a few days) and figure out who was following me. The fact that I had a stalker stayed in the back of my mind, making me constantly on edge.

Glancing to my left, I found that I was leaning up against Finn. Finn was staring at the wall with narrowed eyes. He was clearly deep in thought and probably hadn't slept a wink last night despite the fact that I had told him to get some rest. Oh well, that was Finn for you.

I reluctantly got back to my tires and stopped leaning against Finn. I wasn't certain whether I should be embarrassed or not. After all, Finn and I had come a long ways since we had first met. His comfort was definitely something I needed right now.

Finn noticed me switch positions on the couch and glanced over at me, smiling, "Good morning, Holley."

"Good morning, Finn," I replied, still trying to blink the sleepiness out of my eyes. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Just fine, thank you," Finn responded without meeting my eyes. There was a pause before he added, "And yourself?"

"Finn!" I complained, smacking him lightly with a tire. It was an audacious move for me, but the more time I spent around Finn, the more comfortable I became with him. I went on, "I know better. You were up all night staring at the wall like you're doing right now."

Finn chuckled and replied, "You're starting to know me too well. Well, I'm sure you can understand why I was up all night. I was worried about you. I don't know who is following you, but as long as I'm by your side, they can't harm you."

"That's very sweet of you, Finn," I replied, feeling quite touched. A shiver went through me as I realized just how closely we were sitting together. Had Finn moved closer to me? Throwing that thought away for now so as not to distract myself, I added, "I can take care of myself though. I don't want to be a bother."

"You are anything but a bother," Finn responded before glancing at the clock and saying, "I booked you a flight to Tokyo. Your flight leaves at noon."

"Wait, Tokyo?" I asked in confusion. "Why am I going to Tokyo?"

"Well, you do work for the Tokyo station," Finn pointed out before adding, "You'll have to report how the mission went. I will do the same here for the London station. After that, you can recuperate and then prepare yourself for the next mission."

I was immediately confused at Finn's statement. From what he was saying, I automatically assumed that we would both be taking on different missions. Were we separating? It shouldn't have hurt, but I felt like an arrow had just gone shooting straight through my heart.

Deciding to be optimistic and hoping that I was merely just jumping to conclusions, I asked, "Why don't we just go together?"

Finn instantly avoided my eye and stared harder at the wall. There was a long moment of silence before he coughed and then turned back to me, saying, "I have a mission to start tomorrow. I cannot be delayed by following you to Tokyo. Don't worry though, you'll be perfectly safe."

A mission? Finn was starting a mission without me? It felt like another arrow had pierced my heart as I looked at him in confusion. Why was Finn going on a mission without me? We had been assigned as partners. That meant we should be together...right?

"But what about me?" I asked, deciding not to be optimistic anymore. "Aren't we partners? Shouldn't I be going with you?"

"I suppose I haven't explained how partnerships work before, have I?" Finn asked. I shook my head in confusion and waited for Finn to explain. He continued, "We were partners only for one mission, Holley. You will be working with a new partner for the next mission as will I."

"But I do not want a new partner," I frowned, searching Finn's eyes and losing my train of thought for a moment.

"I know," Finn sighed. "I don't control the way the agency works, but I believe that they have our best interests in mind. If you ever have problems with your next partner, you always have my permission to contact me via radio."

I did not want to "contact Finn via radio". I wanted to be Finn's partner and perhaps more. There was no doubt in my mind now that I truly did love Finn. Just when I had found love, I was going to be separated from my loved one. Life didn't seem very fair. I also did certainly not remember this thing about switching partners after every mission. There was a bad feeling inside me that seemed to be suggesting to my mind that Finn had asked for a different partner.

"Oh. Thank you then," I said, not quite sure what else to say at this point. To be honest, I felt like crying. There were already tears in the corners of my eyes and they were threatening to roll down my face and give away my true feelings at any moment.

"Holley?" Finn asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

No, I was not alright. I felt as if something inside me were breaking. However, a good agent never reveals her own feelings if they will get in the way of missions. I had been debating telling Finn how I truly felt for him, but now it seemed so pointless, especially if we weren't going to see one another again.

Forcing the tears back, I replied, "Yes, of course I'm fine. I'm just tired after yesterday. I'm certain you can understand."

"Of course," Finn said sympathetically. "You had a very long day. Anyone would be tired out if they went through the things you had gone through. When you get back to Tokyo, make sure you take a few days to rest. You certainly deserve it."

"I will," I replied, still having a hard time with the tears. Glancing up at the clock, I pointed out, "Perhaps we should be going now?"

Finn glanced up at the clock as well and noticed that it was getting close to eleven-thirty. Nodding, he said, "I suppose that would be a good idea. Are you ready to go or are there some things you need to do to prepare for your trip?"

I thought for a moment before realizing that I hadn't brought anything with me at all during this trip. Shaking my head, I said, "I have nothing with me. I can go right now. Shall we?" Without waiting for Finn's answer, I started towards the door.

I heard Finn behind me as we drove through the hallways, down the ramp to the lobby (I didn't feel like taking the lift), and out into the streets. Once I was outside in the open, I stiffened and glanced around warily. Thankfully, the feeling of being watched did not come back.

"Holley?" Finn inquired, raising an eyebrow and obviously wondering if something was wrong.

"I'm fine," I replied curtly before asking, "Which way to the airport?"

Finn led me through the streets and was surprisingly quiet for once. He usually talked about random things or future missions, but today he was silent. Then again, I supposed I should be grateful for that. I wasn't exactly in a talking mood myself.

By the time we reached the airport, it was nearly noon and I was wondering how in the world I was going to make it through security and make my flight on time. As if reading my thoughts, Finn took me around to the back of the airport, saying, "Right this way."

Unable to help myself, I raised an eyebrow and asked, "But what about security and all that?"

Finn chuckled and replied, "You won't have to go through security to ride on this plane."

Not quite certain what he meant, I continued following Finn, figuring that he knew what he was doing even if I was more than a little confused. A few minutes later, I found that we had driven right up to a very familiar figure. It was Siddley!

"Well, here we are," Finn pointed out, smiling at Siddley before turning back to me and saying, "You'll be perfectly safe here with Siddley. I trust him with my life. It's been a great experience working with you, Miss Shiftwell. I wish you luck on your future missions."

I felt upset all over again. Finn and I had been through so much together and all he could bother saying was that he wished me luck in the future. I also noticed that we were back to professional terms since he was calling me "Miss Shiftwell" instead of Holley once more.

Well, if Finn wanted to be professional, than so could I. Taking a deep breath, I said, "It was a pleasure working with you, Sir. Thank you for arranging the flight for me. I doubt there is any safer or faster way to get back to Tokyo."

"It was no problem at all," Finn smiled at me. "Have a safe flight and take care of yourself."

I said my farewell to Finn before boarding Siddley. Sensing I was tired and needed my rest, Siddley didn't talk to me too much on the flight back to Tokyo. I suppose I was grateful for this. After all, I was extremely tired and I also didn't feel like talking. A thought occurred to me while I attempted to sleep. Was Finn in such a big hurry to get rid of me that he had arranged for me to be transported back to Tokyo as soon as possible?

I spent the rest of the flight back to Tokyo sleeping. When I finally arrived back in the city, I said my thanks to Siddley and found I was extremely grateful to live so close to the airport. Exhausted, I almost drove through a red light and heard a loud honk from someone across the street as I skidded to a halt.

Finally, after what seemed like hours later, I arrived at the cozy little house Rachel and I shared at the very edge of town. Hoping that Rachel didn't have any boyfriends over since I really just needed to talk to her tonight, I took a deep breath before tapping lightly on the door.

There was a long pause before Rachel pushed the door open and glanced around before her eyes fell on me. A huge smile crossed her face as she flung her tires around me and screamed, "Holley! Oh my god, it is so good to see you! I've been thinking about you so much lately."

Glancing behind Rachel and into the parlor, I asked in a muted tone of voice, "Is anyone here?"

"Hm?" Rachel asked, glancing behind herself as well and then adding, "Oh no, not today. It's just you and me. Come on in! Can I get you something to drink or eat? I bet you've had a long last few days. You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," I admitted as tears threatened to obscure my view again.

Noticing just how upset I was, Rachel immediately stopped what she was doing and asked in concern, "What's wrong, Holley?"

"My partner...he doesn't want me anymore," I stammered out before letting the tears flow.

* * *

_Review? :) ...And I started another fic called "Dark Dealings", so if you could go read that too, I would love it! Sorry, I'm such a self-promoter. ;P  
_


	23. Revelations

**_Thanks for reading everyone! :) Here's the next chapter! Sorry if it's not so good, I'm REALLY tired today.  
_**

**_CutieChloe: Yeah, she's having a bad day, isn't she? D:  
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**_ALL OUT TOMBOY: Don't worry, we'll see some of Finn in this chapter. Well, a tiny bit. xP  
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**_Telling-Layla's-Story-Spoken: Really? Same here! I always wish I could change my own name though. It's so boring. D:  
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**_Rosethorn: Yeah, that would break my heart too! Funny thing is that Finn doesn't seem to realize what he just did to her, you know? And thanks so much! How's class going for you this week?  
_**

**_12DEHD: Three day weeks are awesome! :D Do you have any plans for Friday then? :) I have class, sadly. D: It's okay to cheat once in a while, I think. xP I cheated on science a few times. ;P I guess everyone does it, you know?  
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**_Shellow: Hehe, don't worry, the story isn't over yet. ;P My mom is the same, she thinks Cars is for boys. -_- Then again, she thinks I'm even weirder since I have crushes on cartoon girls, but oh well. xD Hm, I still haven't seen that. Have you seen A Serbian Film or Salo? The second one really disturbed me. xP OMG, that is so funny about your b-day! I guess your friend really was freaking out! It sounds kinda scary. xD  
_**

**_iBrizzy: Oooo, you mean Marvin, right? Could be. xD I won't say. ;P And don't worry, it's just temporary. xP  
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**_HalfBrachenDemon: Ikr? Finn is being an idiot! x_x Heh, you could have a guess! Those were good predictions...you'll have to wait and see. xP  
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**_Pixie: I agree with you 100% Finn does not realize that it's not the way things work with women! Silly Finn. xP Thanks for reading!  
_**

**_HourofTwilight: Omg, I've always wanted to live in England! Is it awesome there? :D Stress is awful, I agree. I really hope you're able to get everything done! Good luck! And yes, Holley and Finn need to get back together soon!  
_**

* * *

**Chapter XXIII  
**

_ ~ Revelations ~_

Too many bottled up feelings always end up spilling out at some point or another. I had never admitted to anyone that I had fallen in love with Finn. Perhaps that was because I had been trying to deny my feelings for him all along. Regardless, I had come to face the fact that I was in love with him and of course that was the moment when Finn decided I should be sent away and that he needed a new partner.

"Holley, honey, what happened?" Rachel asked in concern, forgetting everything and hurrying to my side to embrace me in a tight hug.

"It is a very long story," I managed to whisper between sobs. Once I started crying, it was hard to get me to stop until all the pain had drowned in the puddle of tears on the floor. Going on, I added, "Do you remember my partner Finn? I told you about him."

"Long stories are perfectly fine. We've got all night. But hey, let's not stay here by the door where it's cold. C'mon, let's go to the couch in the parlor," Rachel suggested as she waved a tire towards me and urged me to follow her. "Yeah, I remember Finn. He was the one with the sexy last name."

Despite just how badly I was feeling, I had to crack a smile at Rachel. Even on my worst days, she always had a way of making me feel better. As I drove after her to the parlor, I said, "Finn is...amazing. He's charming, handsome, a real gentleman, and he's very skilled."

Rachel suddenly jerked to a halt, causing me to almost go crashing into her. She slowly turned around with wide eyes and looked at me in amazement as she asked, "Did you actually just call him handsome? Wow, Holley, you must be in-"

"In love, yes," I admitted, deciding to get it over with and just confess. "Finn isn't like other men. He knows how to treat a woman."

"Well, that's great, Holley," Rachel said as we drove to the couch. There was a nice, toasty fire burning in the fireplace to keep us warm. Rachel settled down on one side of our couch and said, "I never thought you'd take interest in a guy. So what's the problem here again?"

"He sent me away," I sniffled, trying not to keep crying. "As soon as the mission was over, he sent me back here and even had me travel on a private plane so I could get here as soon as possible. Do you think I was a burden to him?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Rachel replied firmly. "Of course you weren't a burden to him! A man's mind works different than our minds. His logic probably wouldn't make any sense to us. Maybe he wants to see you again? I don't know..."

"No, he doesn't," I said, finally having managed to stop crying. Taking a deep breathe, I continued on, "He said he had to do a mission with someone else. He wouldn't have said that to me if he had wanted to see me again. I think that was his polite way of saying things are over with us."

"Oh my!" Rachel exclaimed, looking extremely offended. "Why, that's just plain rude. I don't know what he was thinking!"

"Well, I was having problems with this stalker," I admitted, deciding to be truthful. "I told Finn about it and there was one time when he had to come help me in the middle of the night because of it. Perhaps he wants a partner that he doesn't have to take care of all the time."

"Whoa, hold on there, girlfriend," Rachel said, putting a tire up to get me to stop talking. Giving me a close look, she asked, "Did you just say that you have a stalker? Tell me about that! Is someone following you around and threatening you?"

Frowning, I realized for the first time that the stalker hadn't been threatening exactly. True, he had been following me around and had even left me a note, but none of that had exactly been threatening. Perhaps I had just overreacted to the whole situation. That was probably why Finn had decided to find another partner. He didn't want someone who was afraid of her own shadow. I suddenly felt extremely stupid.

"He didn't threaten me or hurt me," I admitted to Rachel. "He just kept following me around and I always felt like someone was watching me. Now I'm feeling rather stupid though. I was probably overreacting and bothering Finn with it."

"That's not true," Rachel replied immediately. "If you have a gut feeling about something, odds are that you're probably right. Don't worry about the stalker guy anymore though. You're back at home and you're safe with me.

"Thank you," I said, managing to have stopped crying at this point. "I just feel like such an idiot though. Perhaps I should contact Finn and apologize..."

"No, no, don't do that," Rachel replied immediately. "You're probably just thinking about this too much. I'm sure this Finn will call you or send you a letter sometime soon. Just because he had to go on a mission with a new partner doesn't mean that he wants to."

"I don't know," I sighed miserably. "He has no reason to call me or send me a letter. Not unless we're going on another mission together."

I stared at the floor and realized just how much my life had changed since I had met Finn. Before, I had always felt like my life was complete. Now, I wasn't so sure. Without Finn, I felt empty and lost. I couldn't seem to think about anything else besides him, which just figured since I would most likely never see him again. I didn't see why everyone said being in love was so wonderful. I saw nothing wonderful about this.

"Wait, Holley, you did tell him you love him...didn't you?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I didn't answer her question and just looked at the ground instead. Obviously figuring out my answer, Rachel sighed and said, "Well, there's your problem right there."

"You really think I should have told him?" I asked, feeling uncertain.

"Well, yeah, you should have told him," Rachel replied a-matter-of-factly. "How else is he suppose to know that you want to stay in contact with him?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said again, realizing just how uncertain I was about this whole love game. Sighing, I continued, "I just can't seem to say those words. It shouldn't be so hard, but it just is. There's also the problem that Finn doesn't want a relationship."

Rachel sniffed a bit indignantly and said, "Well, he'd be more than a fool to turn off someone like you. You're such a wonderful girl, Holley. You're any man's dream. So tell me why your Finn doesn't want a relationship. Did he actually tell you that?"

I tried to remember exactly what Finn had said, but found I couldn't remember his exact words. Frowning, I replied, "Well, he just said something like relationships are dangerous in our field of work. I suppose he has a point, but..."

"Oh, bullshit," Rachel cut me off. "All guys say crap like that. I'm sure he didn't mean it. Look, if you want to keep your Finn, you're going to have to call him."

"Call him?" I echoed dubiously, eying Rachel's cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table just a little ways away.

"Yes, of course call him!" Rachel confirmed before adding, "If you don't call him and tell him how you really feel, how will he know that you want to see him again? Come on, Holley. You have to do this! I don't want you to give up what you have with Finn."

"Later perhaps," I said, knowing deep inside that I would never find the nerve to call up Finn. That was just not my way of doing things. Sighing, I added, "He is probably busy on that mission with his new partner and does not want to be interrupted."

Rachel rolled her eyes and said, "I know you're shy, but you've gotta take advantage of this situation!"

"I...I need to think about it," I stammered, suddenly feeling very sleepy. "I'm really tired, Rachel. I think I'm going to sleep now."

"Well, alright," Rachel replied, looking a bit unhappy at me for not calling Finn like she had suggested. Sighing, she added, "I hope you change your mind though, Holley. You aren't going to find another guy like Finn. Goodnight."

I watched Rachel leave and realized that she did have a point. In all of my twenty-two years, I had never before met someone like Finn. Then again, I hadn't ever really looked at men before. Still though, I was quite sure that I would never find another car like Finn. The feelings he brought out in me were feelings that nobody else could cause. The way he made me melt inside when he smiled at me was something only he could do.

Irritated, I stared at the couch cushion in frustration. I did want to tell Finn how I felt, but I had a very bad feeling that he didn't care for me in the same way. It would be more than a little embarrassing to admit my feelings to Finn and then find out that he didn't like me back. I shuddered at that thought and realized that I was taking no chance of that happening. I wouldn't call Finn.

Not exactly content, I closed my eyes and waited to fall asleep. It took a long time for my eyes to shut despite the fact that I was exhausted. Finn seemed to be preoccupying my mind. Somehow, I was going to have to find a way to get him out of there.

The next few days I spent at home with Rachel. Rachel was very understanding of how I needed my rest and didn't ask me do to much of anything. She took care of the house, did the cooking, and helped me out with anything I needed help with.

Rachel never mentioned Finn again and neither did I. My thoughts were that perhaps I could forget about him in time if everything went back to normal. Well, it did not work at first, that was for certain. Finn had a way of popping into my head over and over again.

Rachel's boyfriend came over on the third day. I had been going to hide up in my bedroom like I usually did when Rachel had friends coming over, but today Rachel told me that she really wanted me to meet her boyfriend. Figuring that I could do this for her, I agreed to stay in the parlor and meet him.

I usually was quite nervous around strangers, but I soon found that Rachel's boyfriend was very kind and gentle. He also had a sense of humor, which was probably why Rachel had hooked up with him. I had always noticed that she liked a man with a sense of humor.

As much as I liked Adam (Rachel's boyfriend), I had to admit that he was not Finn. Finn must be special because nobody around here was like him. He was so sweet, gentle, kind, caring, and everything I had ever wanted. Why oh why had he decided to send me away though? That thought continued to puzzle me.

We were currently sitting in the living room with Rachel and Adam cuddling while I minded my own business. I could tell that Rachel was doing her best to include me in the conversation, but I didn't quite feel like I fit in. Finn was someone I felt like I belonged - ugh, not Finn again!

Looking down, I suddenly realized that my radio was flashing red, signaling that someone was trying to talk to me. Glancing over at Rachel and Adam, I quickly excused myself, "I have to take a message. I'll be right back in a minute."

Rachel and Adam nodded absentmindedly. both quite preoccupied with each other. As soon as I left the parlor and found myself in the kitchen, I flicked the switch for the radio to turn on and asked in a polite voice, "Yes, this is Holley Shiftwell speaking."

There was a short pause before a voice replied, "Hello, Holley. This is Finn."

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_Review? :)  
_


	24. Not a Dream

_**First of all, I owe everyone a big apology for not updating for so long. I got a little carried away with my other fics and kind of forgot about this. :P For those reasons, I'm going to wrap this fic up. :) I know this is kind of a sudden ending and I may do a sequel to this at some point, but I'd rather concentrate on other things right now. Thank you for your support in writing this; you guys are always my inspiration. ^^ If anyone wants to check out some of my other work, that would be great too. ;P**_

* * *

**Chapter XXIV  
**

_ ~ Not a Dream ~_

Finn? Was it really Finn calling me? I was speechless for a few seconds, wondering if my ears were playing tricks on me. After all these days of wishing, dreaming, and hoping, Finn had finally called. Telling myself that I had better answer him before he turned off his radio, I said in a quiet voice, "Hello, Finn. I didn't expect to hear from you. This is quite a pleasant surprise."

"I'm glad you think so," Finn replied cheerfully. "Do you happen to have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Plans?" I echoed, wondering just why Finn was wondering about my plans for the day. Truth be told, it had turned out to be a rather boring day so far. I was getting tired of watching Rachel and her boyfriend make out on the couch and was even more tired of watching TV. I quickly told Finn, "No, no plans at all. Why do you ask?"

"Great!" Finn exclaimed before going on, "Well, I asked because I was hoping that there was a chance that you wanted to spend the day with me. There's another mission I would like to talk to you about. It's very important. The queen herself sent us on it."

"That sounds very nice and all," I replied, slightly puzzled as I continued, "But Finn, you're in London and I'm here in Tokyo..."

"Look outside your door, Holley," Finn chuckled. "I'll meet you there in a moment."

I heard Finn's radio turn off and turned to face the window. Was it possible that Finn was really waiting outside the door for me? I couldn't help but feel my heart leap with joy at the thought. Without any delay, I turned off my own radio and drove to the bathroom to check my appearance. After deciding that I looked adequate for the date with Finn, I drove quickly through the hallway and through the parlor.

"Whoa, Holley! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Rachel, who had been falling asleep on her boyfriend's shoulder, suddenly jerked up to give me a quizzical look. I wasn't the type to go out on impulse and to be honest, I hadn't been out once since I had returned from my mission.

"I have a date," I replied, trying not to let the excitement in my voice show through too much as I drove to the door and added, "I should be back soon."

I hurried to the door and took a deep, calming breath before turning the doorknob with my tire and driving outside. Just as I had hoped, Finn was right outside the door wearing his usual dashing smile. When he saw me, he brought something out from behind his tire. They were beautiful red roses!

"Why Finn!" I exclaimed, taking the roses from him and inhaling their soft, flowery scent before tilting my head and adding, "Are these for me?"

"Of course, Holley," Finn said before he turned and motioned to a fancy restaurant across the street. "I reserved us a table for lunch. I hope you haven't eaten yet."

"No, I haven't," I replied, following Finn as he led me across the street when the light turned green. I had to admit I was feeling a bit flustered as Finn lavished me with all these gifts. Wondering if perhaps he thought it was my birthday, I pointed out, "Um, Finn? I appreciate all this, but you do realize that it isn't a holiday or my birthday, right?"

Finn laughed as we approached the restaurant and glanced over at me with a twinkle in his eye as he murmured, "Yes, I am quite aware of the date. I just realized that we never had a chance to celebrate the completion of our prior mission."

"Oh, I see," I replied, suddenly seeing how this could explain everything. "So we're going to celebrate a few days late then."

"You could say that," Finn replied as he pushed open the door to the restaurant. I blinked around as we drove inside. Everything in the restaurant was fancy from the crystal chandeliers to the intricately carved furniture. Finn let me straight through the restaurant and to a private room at the back of the restaurant. My eyes widened as I realized that this room was even more beautiful than the rest of the restaurant.

Giving Finn a dubious look as we drove up to opposite sides of the small, circular table, I asked, "Are you quite certain that there is no special occasion?"

"Quite certain," Finn smiled before pushing a plate of delicacies towards me. Deciding to get straight to business as always, Finn said, "The Queen asked for Mater. Apparently, she was not aware that he went back to Radiator Springs. I thought that perhaps the two of us could go there together."

Ignoring the delicacies since I was too nervous to eat around Finn, I nodded and said, "That would be quite nice. I would love to do that."

"That's good to hear," Finn replied before going onto more casual topics as he asked, "How have you been? Have you enjoyed your time off from work?"

I was tempted to lie and say that I had enjoyed it, but honestly, it had been quite miserable for me. I had not enjoyed my time off at all. Instead, I had moped around the house all day and thought about Finn. Choosing my wording carefully, I replied, "It was alright. I'm glad to be going on another mission."

"You're just like me," Finn smiled, eyes still twinkling as he sipped from his tea cup and added, "We both have a sense of adventure and hate sitting around at home when there's work to be done. I think you are the perfect partner."

Flattered and speechless for a moment, I blushed and replied, "Why thank you. How was your last mission with the new partner?"

"It was just fine," Finn replied, eyes on mine as he continued on, "Although there was nothing wrong with her, I requested not to work with her again. Your partnership is far superior to anyone else's. If you do not mind, I would like to be long-term partners with you."

I felt my heart leap into my throat with happiness at Finn's words. I would never have guessed he had come all the way down to Tokyo to tell me this. Who would have known that he would want to be long-term partners? It was something I had been dreaming about, but was also something I had stored in the back of my mind where only my wildest fantasies took place. I never thought Finn would come back to me, and yet, here he was.

"I would love that," I told him, smiling brightly and feeling like a weight had just been lifted off of my back.

Finn visibly sighed with relief from across the table. He took another sip of tea before commenting, "Great! I was worried you might say no, especially after our previous mission. It was much more difficult than I had expected. If I had known about that ahead of time, I would have-"

"Finn, it's alright," I replied, cutting him off. Finn didn't seem to realize that once he had apologized, there was no need to do it a second time. Unable to help myself, I looked down at my tea and said in a tentative voice, "I've been thinking a lot about you these last few days."

"Really?" Finn asked, turquoise blue eyes lighting up as he drove a little closer to the table and asked, "Why?"

"I...I don't know," I stammered even though I did know the exact reason why I had been thinking about Finn. I was just too shy to tell him the truth. Deciding to beat around the bush with him on this topic, I continued staring into my tea cup as I asked, "Did you think about me at all?"

"Yes, I did," Finn replied in a quieter voice. He sounded quite serious as he said, "I've actually been thinking about you a lot, Holley. After you left, it was clear to me that you were the only partner I ever wanted to work with in the future. I also missed you not just because you're my partner, but because you're _you_."

Thinking that we might finally be getting somewhere with this, I finally dared to look up from my tea and meet Finn's eyes nervously. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Stumbling over my words, I asked, "R-really? Why was that?"

"Well, I might as well just be honest here," Finn pointed out, "You're the kindest, smartest, and most beautiful woman I've ever met. You don't meet a car like you twice in one lifetime. I once heard that if you find a rare treasure, you should never let it go. You're my rare treasure, Holley. I apologize if I'm being too straight forward here, but I feel that it would benefit us both to know our true feelings for each other."

"No," I said quickly, not wanting Finn to apologize. "You can be as blunt with me as you want. Finn, I...I've been feeling the same way. I couldn't stop thinking about you these last few days. I kept wondering what you were doing and how your new partner was."

"I'm sorry for sending you back to Tokyo the way I did," Finn apologized once more. "I didn't want to end up hurting you. I remembered you saying something about how you had never been in a relationship before and I didn't want to press things or give you the wrong idea about me."

I didn't hear much in that sentence besides for the word "relationship" because my mind was a blur. All these things that Finn was telling me were things I had only dreamed about him telling me. I would never have expected him to be saying this right here, right now.

"Are you asking me to be in a relationship with you?" I asked tentatively, hardly able to wait for Finn's answer.

"Yes, I am," Finn said sincerely before adding, "I may have been reading the signs wrong, but if I know anything at all about female behavior, I would guess that perhaps you like me just a little bit too."

So Finn had picked up on the way I had been acting towards him after all! I hadn't thought he had noticed, but apparently he had. I wasn't certain whether to be embarrassed or pleased. Regardless, I did know that there was one thing that had to be said.

"I...I don't like you," I murmured, driving around the table so I could get closer to Finn. "_I love you._"

That was when it happened. My emerald green eyes met Finn's aqua-colored ones and before I knew it, our lips had touched. Our kiss was soft and gentle, Finn obviously not wanting to take things too far too fast. I, however, had been waiting for this kiss for what seemed like forever and was more than ready for it. Asking him for more with a gentle nibble on the lower lip, I brought my tongue to his mouth and traced the curve of it carefully. Soon, Finn and I were kissing passionately, tongues exploring each other's mouths as if it was the most natural thing to do. A fire seemed to have been lit inside me from the passion between us. It was warm and tingly, definitely a sensation I could get used to.

Unfortunately, the laws of nature broke us apart a moment later and we both gulped in oxygen. I blushed, but found that Finn was smiling, so I smiled too. After he had caught his breath, Finn told me, "You do know that things will be more dangerous for us from now on, right?"

"Yes," I nodded, remembering how Finn had told me how he disapproved of relationships in our profession over and over again, "I don't care though. Not at all. All I want is to be with you. Everything that comes along with it will be worth it."

Finn blinked and I swore I detected tears of happiness in his eyes. Suddenly, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, Holley, since I'm not exactly getting younger and this has gone much more smoothly than I had expected, I have something I would like to ask you."

"Really?" I questioned, trying to figure out what Finn wanted to ask me from his expression.

Searching my eyes, Finn nodded, "Yes. Holley Shiftwell, how would you like to become Holley McMissile?"

Time seemed to stop in that moment. All I saw was the love in Finn's eyes as his words echoed around in my head over and over again. He wanted me to marry him. Now it seemed like this was what I had been waiting for my whole life. My work hadn't filled the gap in my life nor had Rachel or any of my friends. Love was what had been missing. Now, the hole had been filled and was near to bursting with a happiness I had never experienced before.

"Oh Finn..." I whispered, voice cracking as tears of joy poured down my cheeks. "I would love to be your wife. It's what I've always wanted."

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